London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Tories signal tax-cutting Budget if elected

Boris Johnson says he will take the UK out of the EU, present a "tax-cutting" Budget, and deliver on manifesto pledges on crime and health within the first 100 days if he wins the election.

As the campaign enters its final week, the PM said only a Tory victory would end the Brexit uncertainty and get MPs "working on the people's priorities".

If re-elected, he said schools and the NHS would get immediate extra cash.

But Labour said their opponents only offered "more of the same failure".

The Lib Dems said the Conservative plans were "pure fantasy", while the SNP warned there were seven days left to "lock" Mr Johnson out of Downing Street.

Voters will go to the polls on 12 December for the third election in just over five years.

Mr Johnson has said the snap poll is the only way to end months of Brexit paralysis in Parliament. He has guaranteed that the UK will leave the EU by the 31 January deadline if the Conservatives get a working Commons majority.

He has promised to bring his EU withdrawal agreement back for initial approval by MPs before Christmas. He also said he will set out his wider legislative agenda in a Queen's Speech pencilled in for 19 December.

Outlining his plans for the first 100 days, Mr Johnson said his government would take "urgent action" on the cost of living in a Budget in February, which he said would also "take advantage of the opportunities of leaving the EU with a deal".

He pledged to:

"Enshrine in law" the £39.9bn a year in extra funding promised for the NHS in England by 2023
Carry out a review of the UK's defence and security capabilities while legislation will be passed to end the automatic early release of serious violent offenders half way through their sentences, the subject of a bitter political row in the wake of last week's London Bridge terror attack
Start recruiting 20,000 police officers, boosting nursing numbers in England by 50,000 and starting cross-party discussions on social care funding
Mr Johnson has shelved a planned cut in corporation tax to free up £6bn for more public spending, but will see £2.5bn less from a rise in the National Insurance threshold.

He has promised to increase the threshold to £9,500 in the first budget of a Conservative government, which the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies says will save workers about £85 per year.

Plans to raise the threshold further, to £12,500, will be announced in the first budget, Mr Johnson has said.

Mr Johnson said his Queen's Speech would build on the programme that was approved by Parliament as recently as October but which was then effectively mothballed after MPs voted to back an early election.

Other policies would include legislation to protect rail passengers during industrial action, amendments to the Human Rights Act to protect British troops on military operations from vexatious legal claims and legislation to introduce a mandatory minimum term of 14 years for adult offenders convicted of serious terrorist offences.

The BBC's Iain Watson said the Conservative blueprint was also very much a plan for the next seven days, as between now and polling day they want to convince waverers that the party will not only deliver Brexit in government but that it has wider priorities too.

Labour, which is set to make an announcement of its own on schools funding on Thursday, said the Conservatives' record in office over the past nine and a half years was one of total failure.

"In those days we've seen child poverty soar, rising homelessness, rising food bank use, and violent crime is up too while the NHS has more people waiting for operations, and record staff vacancies," said shadow communities secretary Andrew Gwynne.

"As the Conservatives approach 3,500 days of failure, it's clear that more of the same failed austerity, privatisation and tax giveaways for the few is not the answer."

And as she prepares to embark on a week-long election bus tour, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said her party was the only one in Scotland capable of thwarting Mr Johnson's "extreme Brexit".

"If Boris Johnson wins a majority in seven days' time, Scotland will be dragged out of Europe within just eight weeks," she said.

"We have seven days to escape Brexit, lock Boris Johnson out of office and put Scotland's future in Scotland's hands."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The Great Western Exit: Why Best Citizens Are Fleeing the Rich World [PODCAST]
The New Robber Barons of Intelligence: Are AI Bosses More Powerful Than Rockefeller?
The End of the Old Order [Podcast]
Britain’s Democracy Is Now a Costume
The AI Gold Rush Is Coming for America’s Last Open Spaces [Podcast]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
The War Map: Professor Jiang’s Dark Theory of Iran, Trump, China, Russia, Israel, and the Coming Global Shock [Podcast]
Labour Is No Longer a National Party [Podcast]
AI Isn’t Stealing Your Job. It’s Dismantling It Piece by Piece.
Lawyers vs Engineers: Why China Builds While America Litigates [Podcast]
Churchill’s Glass: The Drunk, the Doctor, and the Myth Britain Refuses to Sober Up From
Apple issues an unusual warning: this is how your iPhone can be hacked without you doing anything
Kennedy’s Quiet War on Antidepressants Sparks Alarm Across America’s Medical Establishment
The Met Gala Meets the Age of Billionaire Backlash
Russian Oligarch’s Superyacht Crosses Hormuz via Iran-Controlled Route
Gunfire Disrupts White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Trump Is Evacuated
A Leak, a King, and a Fracturing Alliance
Inside the Gates Foundation Turmoil: Layoffs, Scrutiny, and the Cost of Reputational Risk
UK Biobank Breach Exposes Health Data of 500,000, Listed for Sale on Chinese Platform
KPMG Cuts Around 10% of US Audit Partners After Failed Exit Push
French Police Probe Suspected Weather-Data Tampering After Unusual Polymarket Bets on Paris Temperatures
CATL Unveils Revolutionary EV Battery Tech: 1000 km Range and 7-Minute Charging Ahead of Beijing Auto Show
Crypto Scammers Capitalize on Maritime Chaos Near the Strait of Hormuz: A Rising Threat to Shipping Companies
Changi Airport: How Singapore Engineered the World’s Most Efficient Travel Experience
Power Dynamics: Apple’s Leadership Shakeup, Geopolitical Risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and Europe's Energy Strategy Amidst Global Challenges
Apple's Leadership Transition: Can New CEO John Ternus Navigate AI Challenges and Geopolitical Pressures?
Italy’s €100K Tax Gambit: Europe’s Soft Power Tax Haven
News Roundup
Microsoft lost 2.5 millions users (French government) to Linux
Privacy Problems in Microsoft Windows OS
News roundup
Péter András Magyar and the Strategic Reset of Hungary
Hungary After the Landslide — A Strategic Reset in Europe
Meghan Markle Plans Exclusive Women-Focused Retreat During Australia Visit
Starmer and Trump Hold Strategic Talks on Securing Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Unofficial Australia Visit by Prince Harry and Meghan Expected to Stir Tensions with Royal Circles
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
UK Stocks Rise on Ceasefire Momentum and Renewed Focus on Diplomacy
UK to Hold Further Strategic Talks on Strait of Hormuz Security
Starmer Voices Frustration as Global Tensions Drive Up UK Energy Costs
UK Students Voice Concern Over Proposal for Automatic Military Draft Registration
Rising Volatility Drives Uncertainty in UK Fuel and Petrol Prices
UK Moves to Deploy ‘Skyhammer’ Anti-Drone System to Strengthen Airspace Defense
New Analysis Explores UK Budget Mechanics in ‘Behind the Blue’ Feature
Man Arrested After Four Die in Channel Crossing Tragedy
UK Tightens Immigration Framework with New Sponsor Rules and Fee Increases
UK Foreign Secretary Highlights Impact of Intensified Strikes in Lebanon
UK Urges Inclusion of Lebanon in US-Iran Ceasefire Framework
UK Stocks Ease as Ceasefire Doubts in Middle East Weigh on Investor Confidence
UK Reassesses Cloud Strategy Amid Criticism Over Limited Support Measures
×