Matt Hancock appears to set sights on the Chancellor’s job as he throws support behind Boris Johnson
HEALTH Secretary Matt Hancock appeared to be angling for the plum job of Chancellor by throwing his support behind Boris last night – as he claimed Bojo would show “some love” to public sector workers.
As a key member of the team planning Boris Johnson’s first 100 days in office if he wins the job of PM, Mr Hancock has said the pay freezes under David Cameron and Theresa May will be a thing of the past.
And he added that people in the public sector – which includes the emergency services, schools, the NHS, and local councils – deserved a raise to “properly reward” them for their work.
He told The Times: “Now that there’s money available we need to show the public sector some love – they do a brilliant job for the country.
“People in the public sector need to be properly rewarded for the brilliant work they do. Higher pay, not higher taxes, means a pay rise for everyone, including in the public sector.”
‘NOT FIT FOR PM’
It comes as Boris was left red-faced for forgetting the minimum wage rate, while insisting that low-paid Brits were his “priority”.
The Tory frontrunner cast fresh doubt on his planned £9billion tax cut for big earners by saying his number one aim was to help strivers “out of tax” altogether by raising the thresholds for National Insurance.
But challenged by Sky’s Sophy Ridge to name the Living Wage rate he responded: “It’s at or around £10 or so.”
Told it was actually £8.21 he said he thought the broadcaster was talking about the London Living Wage – which is £10.55. Labour immediately said: “He’s not fit to be PM.”
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The bookies’ odds-on favourite for the top job also sparked a Tory civil war by pledging he would increase borrowing to find the money to invest in Britain’s infrastructure.
He insisted it was right to borrow to “finance certain great objectives”.
And he quoted a 14th century Tunisian scholar to insist cutting tax does generate more by putting cash into people’s pockets.
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