Boris Johnson guns for Rishi Sunak: Ex-PM demands his successor cuts taxes in ... trends now

Boris Johnson laid into Rishi Sunak today as he demanded tax cuts and policies aimed at going all out for economic growth before the next election.

The former PM, who quit in the summer after a scandal-dogged three years in office, used a television interview with close ally Nadine Dorries to put pressure on his successor in No10. 

In a wide-ranging interview on TalkTV he said the government needed to get 'on the front foot' over the economy with tax cuts 'when the time comes'. 

Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who will present his Budget next month, have said they will only bring in tax cuts when inflation has been brought under control. 

In the cozy sit down with Ms Dorries, one of his most vocal cheerleaders, he also said that the UK should increase the number of tanks it is sending to Ukraine from the current 14.

He also insisted that the Tories could still be win the next election, despite trailing Sir Keir Starmer's Labour party massively in the polls, because the public would reward the party for 'for cutting their taxes'.

After a week in which he has conducted a plethora of media interviews, mainly in the United States, he also mocked the PM for how many times he had been on television, claiming: 'He's been on TV a lot more than me lately'. 

In an interview broadcast this evening, Mr Johnson discussed the economic problems facing the UK. 

'The fiscal position was pretty robust when I left office, we had scope to do all sorts of things and we were going to do them and I have no doubt that when the time comes, the Government will make sure that they start to reduce the tax burden and get the economy growing again and that is what needs to happen,' he said.

'We need to be on the front foot out there talking about the benefits of Brexit, not being shy about it, not being bashful and getting some growth back into the economy.'

He suggested that the tax cuts should come before the next general election, expected late next year or in early 2025.

'The fact is that the Conservative Party can certainly win the next election,' Mr Johnson said.

'[Keir Starmer] thinks that he's going to get people to vote Labour just by standing there and doing nothing. It's not going to happen. 

'The economy will start to improve, inflation will come down, people will reward the Conservative party, they will reward the Government for being sensible, for cutting their taxes and for getting things done that they need done.

'Fixing the things that Rishi has said that he's going to fix and never forget when it comes to it, it's going to be a very clear choice. 

'Do you want the Conservatives who are going to manage the economy, not put taxes up any further? In fact, cut taxes. 

'Of course the taxation situation has been very, very difficult because of Covid. The huge expense that we had to go to, 480 billion we had to spend on looking after people during Covid, it was massively expensive. It had a big fiscal impact but Labour, everything they say makes it perfectly obvious that the taxes would be even higher.' 

 Mr Johnson's remarks are likely to raise some hackles in No10, which sees inflation, currently running at more than 10 per cent, as a bigger problem than the tax rate, though it is the highest it has been since the war.

He also appeared to make trouble for Mr Sunak by demanding more tanks be sent to Ukraine.  The UK has agreed to send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks.

'I was making the case last week for the tanks and I'm delighted to say that the British Government once again is in the lead in sending tanks to Ukraine,' Mr Johnsoin said.

They're going to need about 300 tanks so we need a big international effort.

'The Germans have said that they're lifting the ban on export of the Leopard tanks, the Americans are giving tanks - I'm not saying it's anything to do with my article. The key thing is that other countries have got to do the same thing. I tell you this, Nadine, it wouldn't be a bad thing if we gave some more tanks ourselves.'

In an interview that ranged across a wide plethora of subjects he also  gave  a glimpse into his post-Downing Street life - reading to his children more, doing DIY and painting cows.

The former PM opened up on how he has been filling his time in an interview with close ally Nadine Dorries for her new Talk TV show.

Mr Johnson has kept a relatively low profile since leaving No10 last summer, while many MPs still hope he will make a comeback to the front line.

However, this week he did a series of interviews on a visit to the US, berating Vladimir Putin and urging the UK to send fighter jets to Ukraine.  

In the Talk TV appearance - broadcast at 8pm tonight- Ms Dorries asked him whether he was now able to spend more time with the two small children he share with wife Carrie.

'What's it like being at home with the kids? Are they seeing more of dad?' she said in clips released today. 

Mr Johnson replied: 'They are. Yes, and it's fantastic because you know, I've got a very full day... 

'I'm doing lots of writing. Unless I specifically tell you otherwise, I'm doing stuff for Uxbridge and doing a lot of political work but yeah, it means I can do reading to them… building things. It's great.'

Mr Johnson - who has previously spoken about his love of model buses - explained that his DIY activity involved constructing a garage for a mini-quad bike.

'I'm building a garage for the quad bike. Not a big quad bike, it was a miniature quad bike. They're too small for quad bikes,' he said.

Mr Johnson also said he was enjoying doing more painting in his spare time. 'I've got a project which is to master the form of the cow,' he said. 

Mr Johnson revealed during the Tory leadership campaign in 2019 that he had a hobby of making buses out of old wine crates.

He described how he would paint them red, populate the decks with small 'happy' figures, and add

read more from dailymail.....