What can the P2P industry expect from the new chancellor?
Nadhim Zahawi won a shock promotion last night after Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor in protest at a series of sleaze scandals at Number 10.
Zahawi was secretary of state for education before being named chancellor. During his 12 years in politics, he has also served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for business and industry, and as the Covid-19 vaccine minister.
So what can we expect from the new man at the top of the Treasury?
- He is in favour of lower corporate taxes
During his first few hours as chancellor, Zahawi indicated that he would review government plans to raise corporation tax from 19p to 25p.
“There’s nothing off the table,” he said, when asked about corporation tax cuts.
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- He was a vocal supporter of the government-backed lending schemes
In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Zahawi was parliamentary under-secretary of state for business and industry, and he used this position to urge businesses to use government-backed lending schemes such as the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS). During this time, he also stated that “the government acknowledge[s] that access to debt finance is important.”
Before Sunak’s resignation, there had been speculation that the government would launch a follow-on lending scheme to replace the recently-ended recovery loan scheme. Zahawi’s appointment will raise hopes that this follow-on scheme could be rolled out sooner rather than later.
- He knows what it takes to build a business
Zahawi made his fortune as an entrepreneur, co-founding nationwide polling company YouGov in 2000.
In fact, he was so convinced of the accuracy of his polls, that he placed a substantial bet on Will Young to win Pop Idol in 2002, even though Gareth Gates was the runaway favourite. His bet paid off, and he won an undisclosed amount. When YouGov went public in 2005, Zahawi earned a reported £5m windfall.
- He is one of the wealthiest members of parliament
Various reports have estimated Zahawi’s personal wealth at anywhere between £25m and £100m. His family estate is managed by Zahawi & Zahawi, which owns over 31 acres of land in Warwickshire.
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- He is no stranger to controversy
In 2013, Zahawi came under fire after it was revealed that he had used taxpayer money to pay to heat his stables.
More recently, he was implicated in the Greensill scandal. Greensill Capital collapsed into administration in 2021 after receiving £400m in government-backed loans. It has since been revealed that Zahawi was “personally instrumental” role in facilitating at least some of these taxpayer-backed loans.
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