Sajid Javid wanted to cut 2p from the basic rate of income tax, reduce stamp duty and offer generous reliefs for capital investment

Sajid Javid wanted to cut 2p from the basic rate of income tax in the budget he was due to announce, the former chancellor has revealed.

Mr Javid was also pressing to reduce stamp duty and to offer generous reliefs for capital investment in a radical tax-cutting programme to have been unveiled next month.

He resigned from the government two weeks ago after a dispute with Boris Johnson in the middle of the reshuffle. In an interview with The Times, Mr Javid, 50, said that he had wanted to send a “huge signal for working people” that the government was “absolutely on their side” with a series of aggressive cuts, including the first to the basic rate of income tax for 15 years.

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