Dominic Raab launches Prime Minister pitch with promise of pay rise for millions of workers
DOMINIC Raab promised a pay rise for millions of workers as he launched his pitch for power last night.
The former Brexit Secretary said building a fairer society would be his number one goal once he had taken Britain out of the EU.
He promised tax cuts for every family, boosting the take-home pay of the average worker by £640 a year.
Mr Raab, 45, said: “I’m fighting for a fairer Britain – a fairer deal on Brexit, a fairer deal for workers and a fairer society for all.”
The karate blackbelt revealed he will bring forward a Brexit Budget packed with measures to put “rocket boosters” under the economy.
Action will include taking 1p off the basic rate of income tax and raising the threshold for National Insurance to £12,500.
Dad-of-two Mr Raab, a 6-1 shot for the crown, said: “We should cut taxes to give workers on low and middle incomes a pay rise which many haven’t had for years – delivering a fairer deal for workers.”
The NI changes will save the average full-time worker £464 a year and slashing a penny off income tax will put an extra £180 into wage packets.
Mr Raab has a reputation as a tough negotiator and is convinced he can force a better deal from stubborn EU chiefs who will know he means business.
But he warned that if they refuse to budge, he will take Britain out on World Trade Organisation terms at the next deadline on October 31.
He would tear up the divorced settlement and draw from the £39billion budgeted for the Brexit deal to give Britain a soft landing.
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The high-flier has told supporters he will focus on boosting jobs, easing the cost of living and ensuring schools and hospitals offer the highest quality services.
He said cutting business taxes and raising NI contributions would put “rocket boosters” under the economy.
This would be backed by a more robust pro-competition policy at home to give small firms the chance to break into markets, end consumer rip-offs and offer customers better deals.
The Sun Says
HOW refreshing to hear big ideas from Tory leadership hopefuls after years of political stagnation under Theresa May.
Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock are staking big claims with pledges to shake up tax, launch big infrastructure projects and tackle rising crime.
Hancock is right to warn that the Tories must wake up and appeal to disaffected younger voters who want to see a proper vision for their future.
The country has been crying out for fresh ideas, but ultimately Brexit will define this leadership election, just as it has dominated our politics for the past three years.
The Tory grassroots want a clear, decisive message from able candidates on the biggest issue facing Britain.
Yet at the moment it looks like a cavalry charge of up to FIFTEEN runners, bulked out with no-hopers and some of the biggest wannabes since the Spice Girls.
Already the Tory Remainer ranks are plotting a Stop Boris campaign and among potential candidates six back No Deal, four reject it and three are in-between.
It is another sign of the size of this Tory crisis that such an absurdly large field of candidates is tolerated.
You would think a party grandee like Sir Graham Brady would be just the sort of old hand to help sort out this mess.
But he seems ready to add to it by throwing his own large-size hat into the ring.
The Tories have no divine right to government and they need to get a grip fast.
This contest is too important for petty ambitions and if they cock this up the voters will never forgive them.
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