Johnson promises tax cuts for the rich as Tory leadership battle begins

Ex-British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. 

Candidates pledge to resolve Brexit issue in three months

Leading Brexit advocate Boris Johnson promised tax cuts for higher earners if he becomes Britain’s next Prime Minister as the contest to replace Theresa May — and take charge of the EU divorce — officially kicked off on Monday.

Ms. May stepped down as leader of the ruling Conservative Party on Friday, having failed three times to win Parliament’s support for a European Union (EU) divorce deal that was supposed to address Britain’s biggest political crisis in a generation.

Campaign launch

At campaign launches on Monday, several candidates made their pitches. While all were keen to set out a domestic agenda, it was Brexit that dominated.

Nearly all promised that they could solve the Brexit conundrum — which eluded Ms. May in three years of EU talks — in just three months, between the new leader being chosen at the end of July and the current exit date of October 31.

“Without Brexit, there will be no Conservative government and maybe no Conservative party,” Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said at his campaign launch.

“From my conversations with European leaders, it is clear to me there is a deal to be done; they want us to come up with proposals.”

Dominic Raab, who quit as Brexit Minister over Ms. May’s divorce deal, said he too could get a new agreement but promised that the United Kingdom would leave the EU on October 31, even if that meant reverting to basic World Trade Organization trade terms. “I’m the Brexiteer that you can rely on,” he said.