Mr Johnson has drawn up radical plans to increase the point at which people start paying the higher rate of income tax from £50,000 to £80,000, pulling hundreds of thousands of people out of the 40p band entirely.

The move, which will cost an estimated £9.6 billion a year, will save people thousands of pounds on their tax bill. It will be funded from the £26.6 billion of „fiscal headroom“ that is currently set aside by the Treasury for no-deal preparations.