MARK Jenkinson has welcomed the launch of the Conservative Party’s 2024 election manifesto, setting out a clear plan to build a brighter future for people across the Penrith and Solway constituency.
As part of the blueprint to support working people and build a strong economy, the Conservatives have pledged to abolish the main rate of National Insurance for the self-employed.
Under the plans, the main rate of Class 4 NICs will fall to 5 per cent in April 2025, 4 per cent in April 2026, 3 per cent in April 2027 and 2 per cent in April 2028, before being scrapped altogether in April 2029.
This follows the tax cuts already delivered for self-employed people and is the next step in the Conservatives’ long-term ambition to end the unfair double tax on work, which sees working people pay two types of ta x on their income – income tax and National Insurance – when other people only pay income tax.
Combined with the tax cuts already delivered this year, this is a tax cut for the average self-employed person on £28,000 worth over £1,500 a year.
Two million self-employed people will benefit and take 93 per cent of self-employed people out of paying Class 4 NICs.
Mark Jenkinson, the former MP for Workington, and the Conservative candidate for Penrith and Solway, said: “This is great news for the self-employed, for employers and employees, and, indeed, all those who work for a living.
“It is working people who keep our country going – and who provide goods and vital services. It is right that they should keep more of their own money.
“The choice is clear in this election: stick with the plan to cut taxes and ensure people keep more of what they have earned with Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives or go back to square one with Keir Starmer and the same old Labour Party who will raise taxes by £2,094.
“The UK has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years caused by the pandemic and Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. But despite all this, the Conservatives have restored economic stability, reduced inflation, boosted wages, created more jobs, cut taxes, and increased growth.”
