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Tax cuts are the only hope, Tories tell Sunak: The PM MUST return to traditional Conservative values after Labour wins by-elections in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth, party insiders say

• The Prime Minister has been urged to cut taxes and return to traditional values  

By JASON GROVES and KUMAIL JAFFER

PUBLISHED: 20 October 2023

Rishi Sunak was yesterday urged to cut taxes and return to traditional Tory values after stay-at-home Conservative voters handed Labour two devastating by-elections wins.

Keir Starmer said Labour had 'made history' after romping home in the previously safe Tory seats of Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth. Ministers said the defeats - among the biggest in British political history – had 'killed off' any prospect of a general election before the autumn of next year.

Results suggested that the Labour victories stemmed from thousands of former Conservative voters staying at home.

Turnout was low in both contests, allowing Labour to win without increasing its vote.

Mr Sunak acknowledged that the results were 'disappointing', but insisted he would not change course.

Speaking in Egypt on the last leg of his Middle East tour, the Prime Minister stressed that mid-term elections were 'always difficult for incumbent governments'.

He said that 'local factors' had also played a part – code for the controversy surrounding the departures of former MPs Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher.

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Rishi Sunak was yesterday urged to cut taxes and return to traditional Tory values after stay-at-home Conservative voters handed Labour two devastating by-elections wins

The Prime Minister said that 'local factors' had also played a part – code for the controversy surrounding the departures of former MPs Nadine Dorries (pictured) and Chris Pincher

The Prime Minister said he would 'keep on' trying to deliver his five pledges, but would also 'bring change' in other areas, as he did on net zero last month.

Mrs Dorries hit back last night, branding Mr Sunak's attempt to blame her as 'pathetic'.

She posted on X: 'A worthy leader owns it. He apologises and looks for a way to do better. What he doesn't do is pathetically blame anyone or anything other than himself.'

Shell-shocked Tory MPs yesterday warned the Prime Minister that he now had to do much more to win back traditional supporters.

Former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns said the Government needed to make 'far-reaching major changes now to instil confidence in the Conservative voters'.

Sir John Redwood said voters wanted the Government 'to stop the boats, improve the quality and efficiency of services and cut taxes to get some growth'.

Former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said voters were 'angry with us because of the cost of living and taxation – they want to know they have a government that gets growth going and get taxes down'.

He added: 'This will then allow us to talk about other things, like net zero and woke issues.'

Keir Starmer said Labour had 'made history' after romping home in the previously safe Tory seats of Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth. Pictured: Newly elected Labour candidate Alistair Strathern with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer

Newly elected Labour MP Sarah Edwards with party leader Sir Keir Starmer at Tamworth Football Club

Starmer says huge Labour victories must be accepted humbly

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Fellow Tory Danny Kruger also called for tax cuts as he urged the Prime Minister to be 'more coherent, more robust and braver'.

Privately, some ministers called for the resignation of Tory party chairman Greg Hands.

Lib Dems humiliation 

The Liberal Democrats suffered a disappointing night in Mid Bedfordshire as they came a distant third to Labour and the Tories.

The party had hoped to take the rural seat, after MP Nadine Dorries resigned, to add to their string of by-election victories.

Lib-Dem strategists stressed at last month’s party conference that they could smash the ‘Blue Wall’ – former Conservative strongholds – with Mid Bedfordshire next in their sights.

But the party’s candidate Emma Holland-Lindsay finished more than 3,000 votes behind Labour and the Tories. It prompted Lib-Dem officials to suggest that targeting a seat where they came third in 2019 was a step too far.

Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: ‘We nearly doubled our share of the vote which would see the Lib Dems win dozens of seats off the Conservatives in a general election.

‘We can play a crucial role in getting rid of this Conservative government.’

But Labour frontbencher Peter Kyle said: ‘The Lib Dems made a lot of noise and heat, but it never translated into action on the ground.’

In Tamworth, the Lib Dems finished joint sixth and lost their deposit.

One said: 'Greg committed the worst sin of all – letting people believe we were going to win at least one of them almost right up until when we lost.'

Polling expert Sir John Curtice said the results were 'extremely bad news' for the Conservatives and could presage a 1997-style Labour landslide next year.

'It is 12 months to go, this isn't destiny, but it is a pointer that unless the Conservatives can fairly dramatically and fairly radically turn things around, then they are staring defeat in the face in 12 months' time,' he said.

Labour saw off stiff competition from the Liberal Democrats to achieve a 23.9 per cent vote swing in Tamworth, and a 20.5 per cent swing in Mid Bedfordshire. Sir Keir hailed the swings as 'phenomenal results' which showed the party was on track for government.

He said Labour was 'redrawing the political map' by taking seats which had been comfortably Conservative.

'Winning in these Tory strongholds shows that people overwhelmingly want change and they're ready to put their faith in our changed Labour Party to deliver it,' he added.

In Mid Befordshire, the seat previously vacated by former culture secretary Mrs Dorries, Labour's Alistair Strathern came out on top in a three-way battle to win by 1,132 votes.

The largely rural constituency had a Tory MP since 1931 and has never been held by Labour in its century-long history. Sarah Edwards took victory in the Tamworth by-election, which was triggered when former chief whip Mr Pincher lost his appeal against a proposed suspension from the Commons for drunkenly groping two men.

The union organiser overturned a Tory majority of more than 19,000 to win the Staffordshire seat. Mr Hands acknowledged the results were disappointing but insisted there was no enthusiasm for Sir Keir among voters, and said there was still time for the Government to turn things round.

AUSTERITY FOR THEE, TAX CUTS FOR ME

Sunak ‘considering tax cuts to lure back lost Tory voters’

Rishi Sunak could be considering major tax cuts in a bid to win over traditional Tory voters after the two by-election defeats this week.

 by Joseph Connor
2023-10-21 11:18
in News, Politics


Rishi Sunak could be considering major tax cuts in a bid to win over traditional Tory voters after the two by-election defeats this week.

The threshold for paying the 40% higher rate of income tax could be raised in the 2024 spring budget, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The Times reported that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering cuts to either stamp duty or inheritance tax.

The suggested tax cuts come after Labour claimed “historic” victories by overturning large Conservative majorities in Thursday’s by-elections in Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire.

The Telegraph report said about 5.6 million people pay the higher rate of income tax which is levied on earnings over £50,271, with Tory strategists believing “many of them vote Conservative and would be boosted by the tax cut”.

The Times also suggests a tax cut could be on its way in 2024 ahead of the next general election, with the most likely course being a reduction of stamp duty because it is seen to be “aspirational” as it could “boost the economy by making it cheaper to move” and also appeal to middle-aged voters “who had deserted the party”.

Speaking to broadcasters as he prepared to fly back to the UK from meeting leaders in the Middle East, Mr Sunak admitted the by-elections produced “obviously disappointing results” but it was “important to remember the context”.

He said: “Mid-term elections are always difficult for incumbent governments. And of course there are also local factors at play here.”

The Prime Minister added that he remained “committed to delivering on the priorities of the British people” after the defeats.

Mr Sunak said he would “keep on” with his five priorities, which include halving inflation and stopping migrants in small boats crossing the Channel.

A Downing Street spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports and added: “I wouldn’t be able to speculate ahead of a fiscal event.”

HE GETS IT (DESPITE ITS ULTIMATE FAILURE)

Japan’s Kishida Orders Temporary Tax Cuts Ahead of By-Elections


Fumio Kishida

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

By Isabel Reynolds and Yuki Hagiwara
October 20, 2023 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his ruling party executives to consider introducing temporary tax cuts, days before two special elections in which his ruling party faces tough opposition to hold onto its seats.

“I instructed that measures be considered to return something to the people, including income tax cuts,” Kishida told reporters after meeting the policy chiefs of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito late on Friday. He added he had asked for the policies to be drawn up quickly.

The move comes even as the deeply indebted country seeks ways to pay for its biggest defense expansion since World War II and vows to expand support for families to levels comparable to those provided in Sweden.

LDP tax chief Yoichi Miyazawa told reporters a period of one year would be “common sense” for such a tax cut. Komeito policy chief Yosuke Takagi said a flat rebate, irrespective of income, would be appropriate.

Polling on voting intentions shows the opposition is ahead in a race for an upper house seat on the island of Shikoku, while LDP retains a narrow lead in a lower house constituency in the southwestern prefecture of Nagasaki, according to polling by the Yomiuri newspaper and other media.

Support for Kishida’s cabinet slumped to 29% from 37% the previous month in a poll carried out by the Asahi newspaper last weekend, the lowest since he took office two years ago. A slew of other media polls have also put his approval at its lowest ever.

Voters are dissatisfied with the steps Kishida’s taken to shield them from the effects of inflation, polls have shown. Those measures include expanding and extending gasoline subsidies to the end of the year. At the same time, a poll by NHK this month showed three-quarters of respondents were uneasy about the country’s fiscal situation.