Treasury minister admitted tax burden on young people is a 'scandal'
A Treasury minister was recorded admitting the tax burden on young people is a 'scandal' just weeks before he joined the government frontbench.
Bim Afolami told activists that his Tory colleagues needed to 'wake up' to the party's record on economic growth and the tax burden on young people.
In the newly-unearthed comments from two events in October, he asked: 'How can we be the party of lower tax if younger people are paying high tax?'
'It is a scandal that the marginal tax rate that many people in this room will pay is above 40 per cent after student debt,' Mr Afolami told activists at an Adam Smith Institute event on October 10.
He said the Tories needed to 'explicitly set out, and a make a foundation of our policy, to grow the economic opportunities for people in this room and people across the country'.
Bim Afolami told activists that his Tory colleagues needed to 'wake up' to the party's record on economic growth and the tax burden on young people
The Treasury minister was recorded admitting the tax burden on young people is a 'scandal' just weeks before he joined the government frontbench
In the newly-unearthed comments from two events in October, he asked: 'How can we be the party of lower tax if younger people are paying high tax?'
He added: 'It is a scandal that the marginal tax rate that many people in this room will pay is above 40 per cent after student debt,' Mr Afolami told activists at an Adam Smith Institute event on October 10
At another event on October 3, titled 'Low on income, low on trust: how can the Conservatives retain voters hit by the cost of living crisis', Mr Afolami said it would be a 'really difficult year' if the Tories failed to improve economic growth and opportunity.
He said 'people really need to wake up to the fact that housing is one of the key, it's not the only thing, but it is one of the key things that we can do to offer to younger people a chance to build their economic future and build their families'.
'Because unless we do that, we are not a Conservative Party worthy of the name.'
He warned that the Tories were overly reliant on people becoming 'more conservative' as they get older, but said 'for millennial generations, this is not happening'.
At another event on October 3, titled 'Low on income, low on trust: how can the Conservatives retain voters hit by the cost of living crisis', Mr Afolami said it would be a 'really difficult year' if the Tories failed to improve economic growth and opportunity
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami (third from right) alongside Chancellor Jeremy Hunt posing with his red budget box on March 6, 2024
Mr Afolami was appointed as Economic Secretary to the Treasury a month later on November 13.
A Conservative spokesperson said: 'As Conservatives, we believe in lower taxes. Now inflation is back under control, we have started the process of cutting taxes so that working people have the financial security they deserve.
'By contrast, raising tax is in Labour's DNA. The plans set out in Labour's manifesto would take taxes to the highest level in our country's history – and that's before you add in the £38.5 billion black hole in their promises.
'That's the choice at this election – lower taxes with the Conservatives or a £2,094 tax hike under Labour that would hammer working families hardest.'
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