Stamp duty must be cut "as a matter of urgency" as part of a return to Conservative values if the party is to win the next election, Jacob Rees-Mogg declares today.

Writing for The Telegraph, the Tory MP denies speculation that he is preparing to challenge Theresa May but condemns her election campaign as "too managerial" and "lacking inspiration".

Setting out his vision for electoral success he urges Mrs May to reduce stamp duty and income tax, demolish tower blocks and tackle "scarcely competent monopolies" such as the energy markets.

He writes that he wants to be "the servant of the Conservative Party, not its master", and highlights that Theresa May "giggled" at the prospect of his becoming Prime Minister. However, his intervention may raise rather than dispel speculation that he harbours ambitions for the leadership.

His intervention comes as ministers, peers and think tanks are now urging Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, to cut the duty - dubbed a "tax on moving" - in his Autumn Budget.