Tory leadership race: Sadiq Khan says there is ‘no fresh start’ under next Conservative leader

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan says there will be “no fresh start” for the country under another Conservative leader.

This comes after a flurry of weekend announcements of Tory leadership hopefuls, following Boris Johnson’s resignation.

The rules of the race to replace Boris Johnson will be set out by the party’s 1922 Committee on Monday evening.

Eleven candidates have thrown their hat in the ring so far, including former chancellor Rishi Sunak and foreign secretary Liz Truss.

But the Labour mayor says that the British public are not going to get a fresh start with “the deck chairs being rotated in the Conservative party.”

Speaking at an event in Brentford on Monday, Mr Khan told LondonWorld: “The reality is Conservative members of parliament, Conservative ministers supported, defended and enabled Boris Johnson as prime minister when he was clearly unfit to be the prime minister.

“What I think the British public want is a fresh start, they’re not going to get a fresh start with the deck chairs being rotated in the Conservative party.

“A fresh start will be the next Conservative leader when he or she is elected to call a general election so the British public can decide whether they want the continuity of Boris Johnson or a new government led by Keir Starmer.”

Tax has become a key battleground in the race to succeed Mr Johnson.

While most candidates have pledged to cut taxes in various ways, none have outlined detailed plans about how they intend to fund these policies.

Former cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have vowed to cancel next year’s planned hike in corporation tax from 19% to 25%, and reduce the rate to 15%.

Others - including foreign secretary Liz Truss and foreign affairs committee chairman Tory Tom Tugendhat - have promised to scrap April’s increase in National Insurance contributions.

Newly appointed chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, transport secretary Grant Shapps, attorney general Suella Braverman and former minister Kemi Badenoch have also pledged to curb taxes.