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RISHI SUNAK
I want to reward hard work, which is why our nurses, junior doctors and teachers will be better off
Keir Starmer doesn't understand business — the beating heart of our economy, says PM
GROWING up, my family placed huge value on working hard.
My dad, a GP, put in long hours to support us.
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My mum worked incredibly hard in a pharmacy, our family business.
I would often help out, and on Sundays the whole family would jump in the car to go to clean the shop together.
We took pride in doing our bit, because we knew if we worked hard, business would thrive and our efforts would pay off.
The pharmacy gave us a sense of purpose and it taught me about the dignity of hard work.
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It’s the same story in millions of households across the country.
People striving to build a wealthier, more secure future for themselves and their families — and, at the same time, bringing benefits to their communities and the country.
It’s why I believe hard work should be incentivised and rewarded, and why I believe taxes on work should be fair and as low as possible.
Of course, until now, recent events mean we haven’t been able to reward hard work the way I would like.
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For many, I know life has been a struggle.
First Covid, then the war in Ukraine, pushed up prices for everyone, causing major disruption to our economy, the cost of living and public services.
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That’s why, when I became Prime Minister, I focused on getting our economy back on track and pledged to cut inflation by half.
Now, thanks to the difficult decisions we have taken, I believe our country has turned a corner.
Today, inflation is down by more than half, reduced from over 11 per cent at its peak to 3.4 per cent now.
Real wages are growing faster than inflation for the eighth month in a row.
Energy and mortgage rates are starting to come down.
And our economy has outperformed expectations.
The plan is working, and the time is right to reward people’s endeavours and deliver the tax cuts you deserve.
So, from this weekend, you will now be able to keep more of the money you earn.
That is because we have cut National Insurance by a third over the past six months, with the latest cut announced in last month’s Budget.
You will start to see those further savings in your payslip from now on, with around 27million hard-working people benefiting from this change.
For someone on an average wage that will now mean a saving of £900 a year.
A junior doctor who earns £65,000 a year will be better off by £1,508; an average full-time nurse on £38,900 by £1,053, and a typical teacher on £44,300 by more than £1,270.
A moral mission
Why have we chosen to focus on National Insurance?
Quite simply because it’s an extra tax on work.
If you work and you earn your money from having a job you pay tax twice — first through income tax and then again through National Insurance.
But if you get your income from other sources you only pay income tax — meaning you pay less tax than someone earning money from a job.
That’s not fair, and it’s why I believe cutting National Insurance is the best way to encourage work and drive growth.
And, if we can stick to the plan I’ve set out for our economy, my long-term ambition would be to remove the unfairness of this double tax on work entirely.
Labour have confirmed they oppose ending the double tax on work, which goes to show they will always prioritise taking your money over putting it back in your pocket.
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For me it’s a moral mission to bring down your taxes.
As a Conservative Prime Minister, I believe there’s no such thing as government money, there’s only taxpayers’ money.
That’s the difference between me and Keir Starmer, who plans to spend £28billion of your money each year — maybe more — on Ed Miliband’s extortionate green pipe dream.
Alongside this, we are also making sure work pays in other ways, too.
In last month’s Budget we raised the National Living Wage to £11.44, the largest ever increase, worth up to £1,800 for a full-time worker.
We’ve cut taxes for two million self-employed people and for businesses, to encourage them to invest, grow and create jobs.
And we are helping parents into work, because becoming a parent is tough enough without struggling with childcare costs too.
So we have extended our free childcare scheme and, from this week, eligible working parents of two-year- olds will get 15 hours of free childcare for the first time.
Back into the people's pockets
In September that will be extended even further to include working parents of children aged nine months and upwards.
Meanwhile, just as our plan is creating the economic bounce-back this country needs, Keir Starmer wants to stamp out those green shoots with his anti-business wheeze that would destroy jobs and stifle this nation’s prosperity.
It goes to show he doesn’t understand business — the beating heart of our economy — and he never will.
So, while we are cutting taxes, incentivising work and putting more money back into people’s pockets, Keir Starmer has no plan to drive the change the country needs and would take us back to square one.
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We’re strengthening that bond between hard work and reward and encouraging aspiration and ambition.
That’s how I believe we will also drive innovation and growth, and build a better future for everyone.
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