'This is Pure Opportunism on His Part' – Journo on Boris Johnson’s Proposed Tax Cuts

Boris Johnson has revealed further details regarding the economic policies that he would implement if he becomes the next British PM. Journalist David Lindsay has weighed in on whether this pledge will help him win over his detractors.

Sputnik: Will Boris Johnson win the Conservative leadership contest? Will his tax cuts prove to be a masterstroke in obtaining support from party members?

David Lindsay: Sadly I think it’s quite likely; although it must be said that he is detested by a huge number of his own MPs, and of course the two candidates who go out to the party and country at large are the final two decided by the members of parliament for that party.

If he gets past that hurdle; he stands a good chance of becoming Prime Minister, but it’s a large hurdle to get over.

I’m not at all surprised that he’s come out with this policy; I don’t think he believes a word of it because I don’t think he believes a word of anything.

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If you examine his record from when he was a very liberal Mayor of London, as one would have to be to become a remain Mayor of London, he then moved suddenly sharply to the right to appeal to the Conservative membership of the country for future reference, with a view to a leadership election, particularly on Brexit.

This is pure opportunism on his part, and will play well with the kind of people who are members of the Conservative Party, a lot of them will be in this category of people.

It’s wholly opportunistic because everything that he does always is.

Sputnik: Would a Conservative Party led by Boris Johnson win a general election against Labour and Jeremy Corbyn?

David Lindsay: The next general election is going to result in a hung parliament anyway. Now as to who is going to be the largest party; I think Jeremy Corbyn and Labour would stand a very good chance of being the largest party, against a party that was led by Boris Johnson.

Sputnik: Would a no-deal Brexit be as bad as many pro-remain factions within the British parliament claim? Could more trade deals such as the one struck today between the UK and South Korea be made with the EU?

David Lindsay: I really have never believed that leaving under WTO terms was this catastrophe that people presented it as being.

It would be more than manageable, and I really do not regard it as any kind of threat, and we have such a close economic relationship with the EU anyway, that it would have to come up with some kind of relationship with us.

We are the German car industry’s second-largest market in the world after Germany, that is therefore from those very important companies in the German economy a huge amount of political pressure to strike a deal with us, to preserve that market, and that’s just one example.

The pressure from business on the continent to secure a good, working trade relationship with the UK after Brexit would be enormous, and I really don’t see the threat, I think that we’d be fine, and it’s in everybody’s interest for that to be the case.

Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.