Boris spills the beans on Tories’ big manifesto tax cut

Boris Johnson has just revealed the biggest policy offer in the Tory manifesto. He told workers on Teesside today that the Tories want to raise the National Insurance threshold to £12,000.

Now, I understand that this would not all be done at once. But it is telling that the Tories have chosen to prioritise this tax cut over raising the threshold for the 40p rate.

But Boris Johnson’s loose lips have created a problem for the Tories. There was already concern in CCHQ that they don’t have that many new stories to come out of the manifesto.

After today, they have one less. The Tories don’t want the manifesto to blow up in their faces; it is—I am told—a very cautious document. But there is also a risk in not having a story to dominate the news agenda in it.