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Some of the Tories who argued for VAT cuts as a Brexit dividend are now voting against themA dozen Tory MPs voted against slashing VAT on energy bills, despite promising to do so if Brexit went aheadReducing VAT on energy bills was used as a rallying cry by Brexiters ahead of the 2016 EU referendum (Photo: Getty)
By Emily Ferguson, Chloe Chaplain
January 11, 2022 8:49 pm(Updated 8:50 pm)
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At least 10 Tory MPs who voted against Labour’s proposal to cut VAT on fuel bills on Tuesday had promised to reduce the tax if Britons backed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
Leading Tory Brexiters used the issue of VAT throughout the campaign and said quitting the EU would give Britain the power to reduce energy bills due to being free of EU competition laws.
Boris Johnson, one of the leading Tory figures within Vote Leave often used the example of VAT when campaigning, and previously said: “As long as we are in the EU, we are not allowed to cut this tax.
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“When we Vote Leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and damaging tax.”
Which Tory MPs have argued for VAT cuts as a Brexit dividend?George Eustice, Environment Secretary and MP for Camborne and RedruthMichael Gove, Housing Secretary and MP for Surrey HeathChris Grayling, MP for Epsom and EwellBoris Johnson, Prime Minister and MP for Uxbridge and South RuislipPenny Mordaunt, Minister for Trade and MP for Portsmouth NorthDominic Raab, Justice Secretary and MP for Esher and WaltonIain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader and MP for Chingford and Woodford GreenDesmond Swayne, MP for New Forest WestTheresa Villiers, MP for Chipping BarnetJohn Whittingdale, MP for Maldon
At the height of the Vote Leave campaign Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and former Labour MP Gisela Stuart now Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston wrote a piece in The Sun promising “fuel bills will be lower for everyone” if Brexit went ahead.
They wrote: “In 1993, VAT on household energy bills was imposed. This makes gas and electricity much more expensive. EU rules mean we cannot take VAT off those bills.
“The least wealthy are hit particularly hard. The poorest households spend three times more of their income on household energy bills than the richest households spend. As long as we are in the EU, we are not allowed to cut this tax.
“When we Vote Leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and damaging tax. It isn’t right that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels impose taxes on the poorest and elected British politicians can do nothing.”
On 14 June, 2016, 13 Government ministers and senior Conservatives pledged to abolish VAT on household energy bills in an open letter.
The signatories included George Eustice, Michael Gove, Chris Grayling, Boris Johnson, Penny Mordaunt, Dominic Raab, Iain Duncan Smith, Desmond Swayne, Theresa Villiers and John Whittingdale.
Mr Grayling wrote a separate letter the following day, where he called for a special Finance Bill that “would abolish the 5 per cent rate of VAT on household energy bills by the date of the next general election by amending the Value Added Tax Act 1994”.
He said the move would be “a major benefit for low income households” and would be paid for by “savings from the UK’s contributions to the EU budget”.
In a speech at Vote Leave HQ on 10 May 2016, Mr Duncan-Smith said: “If we want to cut VAT on fuel to help families afford to heat their homes, we should be free to do so.”
