Conservative leadership election 2022 -

Read our analysis so far of policy announcements made by Conservative leadership contenders Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in the run up to the 5th September 2022. This page will be updated with new analysis.

Conservative candidates’ tax plans are increasingly similar, though still differ in scale and timing

01 Aug 2022 | Observation
Stuart Adam, Robert Joyce, Tom Waters and Ben Zaranko

The key point that neither candidate seems willing to spell out is that, ultimately, lower taxes mean lower spending.

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Rishi Sunak’s proposal to temporarily remove VAT on energy bills

27 Jul 2022 | Observation

Stuart Adam

We assess the implications of Rishi Sunak's plan to remove the 5% VAT charged on household energy bills.

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Tax and spending policies of Conservative leadership contenders

21 Jul 2022 | Observation

Stuart Adam, Robert Joyce, Isabel Stockton, Tom Waters and Ben Zaranko

On 5 September we will know which of the two is the next Conservative Party leader - and therefore Prime Minister - so their visions for tax and spending matter.

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An initial response to the public sector pay announcement

20 Jul 2022 | Observation

Luke Sibieta and Ben Zaranko

What remains to be seen is whether the government will top up its spending plans to fund these higher-than-expected pay awards, or to require the costs to be met from within existing budgets and allow service quality to deteriorate as a result.

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Tory leadership candidates need to face reality on tax pledges

15 Jul 2022 | Prospect Magazine
Paul Johnson and Ben Zaranko

There is every case for ensuring that public money is spent efficiently and on the right priorities so as to minimise the tax burden. But we do have to recognise that taxes pay for public spending. Those who wish to see taxes cut need also to say how they will cut spending.

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