Just Five Conservative MPs Voted Against Tax Rise

Just five Conservative MPs voted against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s manifesto pledge-breaking tax hike on Wednesday.

The health and social care tax, which is a proposed a 1.25 per cent rise in National Insurance, was passed in the House of Commons last night 319 to 248, with the Labour Party voting against it, whose leader Keir Starmer had proposed a ‘Wealth Tax’ instead.

Only five Tory MPs, including blue-collar Conservative Esther McVey, Sir Christopher Chope, and veteran Eurosceptic Sir John Redwood, voted against it, according to The Times.

Thirty-seven Tories did not vote, with the newspaper of record noting that a number of Red Wall Tories — Conservative MPs elected in 2019 in former Labour strongholds — had also abstained.

The law breaks Boris Johnson’s manifesto pledge not to raise new taxes, bringing the tax burden on Britons reportedly at its highest in 70 years.

“Taxes are the highest for, as we have heard, 60 to 70 years, this, under a Conservative government. For me, and I think for many of us and around the country too, the alarm bells are ringing,” Conservative MP Richard Drax said during Wednesday’s parliamentary debate.

Prime Minister Johnson managed to hold off a Cabinet rebellion early this week on the proposals, with just three ministers from the government’s top table even challenging the plans, according to reports, amidst uncertainty over an alleged impending Cabinet reshuffle.

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