David Cameron made up ‘dumb’ tax law to fill hole in election campaign, reveals former PM’s advisor
Ex-Director of Strategy Ameet Gill said the economic policy 'Tax lock' was made up at short notice 'just to fill a vacuum'
DAVID Cameron made up a “dumb” new tax law just to fill a hole in his election campaign plan, a former senior advisor has revealed.
The Tories pledged to enshrine a promise not to raise Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT for five years in legislation, and dubbed it the Tax Lock.
But No10’s former Director of Strategy Ameet Gill has revealed the 2015 election idea was actually made up at short notice “just to fill a vacuum”.
Mr Gill attacked the tax pledge as a dreadful idea because it binds the government’s hands in an economic crisis.
He told today’s BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster programme: “Sometimes when a vacuum is there, it makes the government do some stupid things.
“Towards the end of the general election campaign in 2015, we did the five year Tax Lock.
"It was probably the dumbest economic policy that anyone could make, but we kind of cooked it up on the hoof a couple of days before, because we had a hole in the grid and we needed to fill it.”
The Tax Lock was formally introduced three months later by then Chancellor George Osborne during his summer Budget in July 2015.
It is still a law now that his successor Philip Hammond must abide by.
Mr Gill ran the former Premier’s communications grid to coordinate all the government’s announcements for four years.
His revelation will fuel attacks on Mr Cameron by critics who have painted him as a slick PR man more interested in presentation rather than substance.
Former inner circle adviser Mr Gill has now founded a PR communications agency called Hanbury Strategy.
In his first full interview since leaving No10 with Mr Cameron in July, Mr Gill also told how new PM Theresa May has scaled down the Government's attempts to control the daily news agenda.
He added: “Theresa May is trying to do less than David Cameron, Gordon Brown or Tony Blair did when they were Prime Ministers.
"Theresa happens to think less is more, and she’s not giving many stories away.
“It isn’t such a bad idea, as I don’t think government should be driven by announcement. But whether it succeeds is a totally separate question.
“If you don’t provide the press stories, they will find some others themselves - some which you don’t like.”