Plans to scrap green targets, build more houses and reduce taxes are among proposals being touted by ministers following a meeting dubbed an “interview to become chancellor”.
The prime minister had asked for ideas to reduce household bills without spending public money, alongside suggestions of which regulations could be scrapped or delayed.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is said to have called for a “supply-side revolution” with more investment in energy, transport, infrastructure and housing, suggesting that Johnson chair a new cabinet sub-committee to co-ordinate the plans.
According to cabinet sources, the former chancellor said: “The rising cost of housing is a serious issue for the party of homeowners and we have got to be doing everything we can to encourage more housebuilding.”
Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, argued that cutting taxes was the best approach, while abandoning the government’s net zero commitments. He was backed by government efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng disagreed, arguing that more investment in green energy would be cheaper in the long term.
Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, and Rees-Mogg are also said to have agreed on the importance of getting more people on to the housing ladder. Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, who killed off previous attempts to liberalise planning rules to boost housebuilding, is said to have “taken a bit of criticism”.
One minister present dismissed the ideas as “a lot of people interviewing to become chancellor” after Rishi Sunak’s recent political difficulties made his position vulnerable.
