Sunak promises £17bn in tax cuts in Tory manifesto

Rishi Sunak has unveiled plans to abolish National Insurance payments for almost all self-employed people if the Tories win the election. At the launch of the Tory manifesto in Silverstone he said more than nine in 10 self-employed people - some four million workers - would be exempted from the tax. He said the announcement was “a further downpayment” on his party’s long-term plan to abolish the levy entirely, which it calls a double tax on work. The Tories also pledged to cut employee National Insurance by a further 2p, taking it down to 6 per cent by April 2027. Away from taxation, Mr Sunak repeated his hint that he would be willing to take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights if it blocked his Rwanda flights. And on net zero, the Prime Minister promised to cut the cost for consumers, guaranteeing that the Tories would introduce no new green levies or charges. #generalelection #Sunak #conservatives #manifesto Continue following live covera