Sajid Javid says he stepped down as Chancellor ‘to avoid being humiliated’ 

Sajid Javid says he stepped down as Chancellor instead of sacking his advisers ‘to avoid being humiliated’

  • Sajid Javid revealed why he decided to resign rather than sack his advisers 
  • He said that he would have faced humiliation if he gave in to the demands
  • Mr Javid also revealed the plans he would have proposed in this year’s Budget 

Sajid Javid revealed how he took the decision to resign as Chancellor instead of being ‘humiliated’ by sacking all his aides at a reshuffle. 

Mr Javid dramatically stepped down earlier this month following a brutal turf war between Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings and Treasury aides.

The Bromsgrove MP was given an ultimatum by the PM that he must accept his political advisers being ousted to stay in No11 – but he chose to walk away. 

Defending his decision, he told The Times: ‘It was really hard. I wanted to do a budget but . . . when the prime minister said to me these are the conditions, in my mind it was black and white. 

‘Even if I had entertained the idea for a second I would be absolutely humiliated afterwards.’

Sajid Javid revealed how he took the decision to resign as Chancellor instead of being ‘humiliated’ by sacking all his aides at a reshuffle

Conservative heavyweight Mr Javid, 50, said other Cabinet members hastily congratulated him after defending the right of ministers to offer Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘candid advice’. 

He said he had text messages from other Cabinet ministers telling him ‘well done’, thanking him for speaking on all their behalf. 

Mr Javid added: ‘I loved my job. I have wanted to be Chancellor since I knew who Nigel Lawson was when I was a kid and the only person that believed I could ever become chancellor was my dad. He never got to see it.’

In a move that could be seen as a challenge to his replacement Rishi Sunak – and the Government as a whole – Mr Javid revealed the Budget he had planned to announce, focusing on tax cuts and moves towards economic liberalisation. 

His doomed Budget proposed: 

  • Reducing the 20p basic rate of income tax to 18p from April
  • Additional cuts to take the basic rate down to 15p by 2025
  • Tax breaks for business capital investors
  • Quick-charging points for electric vehicles
  • The introduction of ‘super enterprise zones’ 
  • Reductions to stamp duty  

Mr Javid said he had ‘no option’ but to leave Cabinet when he was told to sack his advisers, and he still has to unpack boxes after moving from the seat of British power in Downing Street back to Fulham. 

Mr Javid did not comment on Dominic Cummings, but said there were people 'in the centre' that thought No 10 controlling the Treasury was a good idea - a proposition he does not agree with

Mr Javid did not comment on Dominic Cummings, but said there were people ‘in the centre’ that thought No 10 controlling the Treasury was a good idea – a proposition he does not agree with

His daughter Maya, 10, left a note with advice ‘for future prime ministers’ at Dorneywood, the Chancellor’s grace and favour country residence.  

Mr Javid did not comment on Dominic Cummings, but said there were people ‘in the centre’ that thought No 10 controlling the Treasury was a good idea – a proposition he does not agree with.

He said a separation between the offices of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor was crucial, and a ‘natural tension’ that exists between the two because other than the Treasury, all other departments are ‘spending’ departments – including No10. 

Mr Javid said that the Prime Minister should not shy away from being challenged, insisting that the ability for a Cabinet minister to freely express themselves regularly was crucial.    

Mr Javid made clear that it was not political differences that made him step down but a merging of operations at Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street.

Mr Javid said that the Prime Minister should not shy away from being challenged, insisting that the ability for a Cabinet minister to freely express themselves regularly was crucial

Mr Javid said that the Prime Minister should not shy away from being challenged, insisting that the ability for a Cabinet minister to freely express themselves regularly was crucial

He expressed his belief that tax cuts should be prioritised for Conservative governments, saying the party should be far more ‘aggressive’ on long-term tax reductions, and even go ‘much further’ than their manifesto. 

Mr Javid’s Budget would have featured a 2p reduction in the basic rate of income tax – the biggest cut ‘in decades’ – with hopes to see it reduced to 15p in the pound by the end of the current parliament. 

He warned of a ‘productivity challenge’ in Britain, and proposed reducing the burden on businesses by letting companies immediately deduct the entire cost of investment from their tax bill. 

Another key aspect of Mr Javid’s spending philosophy is his emphasis on investing in so-called ‘human capital’. 

He said that there are five million adults who have left the education system without basic literacy and numeracy skills – the highest proportion among a working population in the G20. 

Mr Javid proposed a ‘Right to Retrain’, similar to Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme that sought to extend property ownership.  

He now warns that the primary threat facing the country at the moment is coronavirus.

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