Leader candidates pledge to cut tax

CONSERVATIVE leadership candidates have come out swinging with pledges to slash taxes and plough on with controversial Brexit plans as a new contender joined the fray.

International trade minister Penny Mordaunt announced yesterday morning that she will run for the top job, saying the UK's leadership "needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship".

It means nine Tories have now put themselves forward to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Former health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid have both pledged to slash corporation tax as they announced separate leadership bids.

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

Mr Javid also said the UK should consider ripping up old EU laws "to make us a more pro-business, wealth-creating, entrepreneurial economy".

Meanwhile, outsider candidate Tom Tugendhat pledged to back the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill if elected leader.