British Conservatives make tax, education vows in bids for top job

British former health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid have both pledged to slash corporation tax as they announced separate bids for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

Several lawmakers are hoping to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to step down after dozens of members of government resigned in protest after a series of scandals.

It comes after two serving Cabinet ministers, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, revealed their intention to run for the top job within an hour of one another.

Declaring their candidacies in The Telegraph, Mr Hunt and Mr Javid both said they would not only scrap the former chancellor's plans to raise corporation tax from 19% to 25% in April, but reduce the rate to 15%.

Mr Zahawi, Rishi Sunak's successor, had said earlier this week that "everything is on the table" when questioned over the tax rise.

The leadership contenders' timescales for the change are different, with Mr Hunt slashing the tax to 15p in his first autumn Budget, while Mr Javid would set a "glide path."

Mr Javid also said he would scrap the Government's controversial national insurance hike, bring forward the planned 1p income tax cut to next year, and introduce a further "significant" temporary reduction on fuel duty.

The pair spelled out their economic plans in separate interviews with the newspaper.