'Don't bankroll a bloated state!' Priti Patel demands tax cuts slamming the 'socialist disease'

Priti Patel

Priti Patel has demanded tax cuts, hitting out at what she described as a "socialist disease"

GBNEWS
Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 02/10/2023

- 13:20

Updated: 02/10/2023

- 14:07

The former Home Secretary called for the next Conservative manifesto to include tax cuts, job creation and 'enterprise-supporting values'

Priti Patel has demanded tax cuts, hitting out at what she described as a "socialist disease".

Speaking at the Growth Rally on the fringes of the Conservative Party Conference, Patel said high taxes will cause Britain to "sleepwalk into a deeper, darker and more sinister version of socialism under Starmer and Labour".


The former Home Secretary called for the next Conservative manifesto to include tax cuts, job creation and "enterprise-supporting values".

She told the packed out event: "We must put an end to this socialist disease and put a stop to the culture of more taxes, more spending and more borrowing.

WATCH: Liz Truss demands tax cuts and house-building

"But if we don’t cut back, the tax burden will have to keep rising and we will have no growth.

"We cannot Tax our way to Growth. And we cannot spend our way to prosperity.

"We need enterprise and business to grow our economy - they need to invest in jobs and growth, not bankroll a bloated and expanding State."

The former Home Secretary added: "So as we approach the next General Election,

"Our Manifesto must rediscover our tax-cutting, job-creating, enterprise-supporting values."

She warned that the party is a "year out from a general election", describing it as a "crucial time" for the party.

Patel demanded it avoid being "risk averse", instead trying to move away from the "status quo" and "re-energise" the party.

Speaking at the same event, former PM Liz Truss called for the Government to "axe the tax, cut bills and build houses" in order to "make life better and easier for the British public, and give them the freedom to thrive."

She added: "There is no reason we cannot go into the next election with a platform that is proudly conservative.

"Let’s stop taxing and banning things, and start producing and building things."

She also called for the Government to incentivise housebuilding, saying: "Britain must get building.

"The price of housing has soared out of control, making it impossible for younger people to get a foot on the housing ladder and keeping them trapped in punishing rental markets.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

LIZ TRUSS

Speaking at the same event, former PM Liz Truss called for the Government to 'axe the tax, cut bills and build houses'

GBNEWS

"There are too many politicians who say we need to build more homes and then baulk at removing one line of regulation. Newt protection or bat bridge anyone?

"If we really want houses to be built, we’ve got to incentivise it."

Read more from GB News on the latest breaking news, developments, and unrivalled analysis at the Conservative Party Conference

You may like