We will cut tax for millions of people – David Cameron

Speaking at his party’s last conference before the May 2015 election, the prime minister pledged to raise the tax-free personnal allowance from £10,500 to £12,500 over the lifetime of the next government.

And he said the threshold at which pay start paying the 40p rate of tax would be increased from £41,900 to £50,000 by 2020.

As a result of increasing the personal allowance, David Cameron said someone working 30 hours a week on the minimum wage would pay “nothing, zero, zilch” in income tax.

He said a Conservative government would also ensure that the UK had the most competitive corporate tax rates in the G20 group of advanced nations – “lower than Germany, lower than Japan, lower than the US”.

‘Bring back fairness’

Mr Cameron said:”The 40p rate was only supposed to be paid by the most well-off people in our country but in the past decade far too many people have been dragged into it – teachers, police officers.

“So let me tell you this today, I want to take action that’s long overdue and bring back some fairness to tax.”

Mr Cameron put the NHS at the heart of his speech, following Ed Miliband’s pledge at Labour’s conference last week that thousands more doctors and nurses would be recruited, at a cost of £2.5bn, if his party wins the May 2015 general electon.

Repeating his pledge at the 2010 election, the prime minister said health spending would rise in real terms throughout the next parliament.

Mr Cameron is also under pressure from Ukip, which announced on Wednesday that former Conservative donor Arron Banks had defected – following the decision of Tory MPs Douglas Carwell and Mark Reckless to jump ship.

‘Finish the job’

He said that after four years “laying the foundations” for the future by reviving economic growth following the recession, a Conservative government after 2015 would be able to “finish the job” by delivering secure employment, opportunity and homes for Britain’s families.

Chancellor George Osborne has announced plans to cut a further £12bn from welfare over two years as part of his drive to eliminate the budget deficit.

Mr Cameron said increasing health spending “is only possible because we have managed our economy responsibly”.

He told activists: “The next Conservative government will protect the NHS budget and continue to invest more. Because we know this truth – something Labour will never understand and we will never forget – you can only have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy.”

The Conservative leader talked about his disabled son Ivan, who was born with a rare genetic condition and died in 2009 aged six, as he explained how more cash for health could help fund research in areas like DNA coding.