Michael Gove arrives at Downing Street. Photo / AP
Michael Gove arrives at Downing Street. Photo / AP
British Conservative candidate Michael Gove has pledged to replace VAT with a "lower, simpler" alternative and cut business rates if he is elected leader.
The Environment Secretary's pledge comes ahead of tonight's formal deadline for the nomination of candidates to succeed Theresa May.
It is likely to be seen asa dramatic attempt by Gove to shift focus back to his policy plans after a new book revealed that he had taken cocaine in his 30s. Confirming the claim, Gove said: "I did take drugs. It is something I deeply regret."
Following the revelations, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, and Andrea Leadsom, the former leader of the Commons, admitted they had smoked cannabis at university.
Gove's plan bolsters his insistence that he would seek a loose relationship with Brussels after Brexit. The proposals will be seen as an attempt to defy claims by some Brexiteers that he could attempt to keep the UK closely tied to the bloc. The majority of Leavers to have publicly declared support for a candidate are backing Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary, or Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary, who both take a harder line.
Johnson has the backing of some of the Conservatives' staunchest Brexiteers after privately declaring that he would deliver a "clean, managed Brexit". Johnson has the endorsement of Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the backbench ERG Eurosceptics, the group of 28 "hold-out" Brexiteers who refused to back May's Withdrawal Agreement.
Priti Patel, a former International Development Secretary and another member of the group, is backing Johnson, saying only he could "deliver Brexit and restore trust in politics".
