Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £17bn tax giveaway as the centrepiece of the Conservative manifesto, an offer that was immediately condemned for being "implausible" and mainly benefiting wealthier voters.
The policy programme set out by the prime minister, seen by many Tory MPs as probably the party's last big chance to win over voters, contained few big surprises and was centred around cuts to national insurance and stamp duty, higher thresholds for child benefit and help for pensioners.
Launching the manifesto at the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire, Sunak accepted he faced an uphill task in convincing voters, not least after his early departure from D-day commemorations last week.
"I'm not blind to the fact that people are frustrated with our party and frustrated with me," the prime minister said. But in cutting taxes, he insisted, "we are the party of Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson, a party, unlike Labour, that believes in sound money".
However, with the tax cuts costing £17.2bn a year by 2029-30 and much of the money coming from cracking down on tax avoidance and slashing the welfare bill by as-yet uncertain means, thinktanks warned there was a big risk the sums would not add up.
Hours after Sunak launched the manifesto, Labour produced its own costings, which predicted a £17.4bn annual shortfall by the end of the parliament. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said Sunak was "cosplaying Liz Truss" and risked sparking another rise in mortgage rates.
Revealing the manifesto, Sunak announced another 2p cut to national insurance contributions (NICS) and the gradual abolition of all NICs for self-employed people.
While some Tory MPs had hoped to reset a faltering campaign with a bolder policy, for example abolishing inheritance tax, the cuts come on top of other expensive promises, including nearly £6bn a year to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
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