A Kent MP says a wholesale review of the tax system is needed to ensure that multinational companies like Amazon pay their fare share of taxes in the UK.

Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke is standing in the contest to become the chairman of the influential all-party Treasury select committee and says that, if elected, he would press for a crackdown on tax avoidance by big companies.

“We need to restructure our tax system because it is totally wrong that companies like Amazon pay so little tax here and they need to be paying their fair share.

"Restructuring is needed because we cannot have a system where big companies pay proportionately less than small companies do,” he said.

The MP said his job as a former partner in a transatlantic law firm specialising in tax alongside his stint as a local councillor in Lambeth meant he had the skills and experience needed for the job of chairing one of the most influential cross-party committees.

He also said that if elected, he also wanted to see better help for young people to get on the housing ladder.

“Too much of new housing supply has gone to landlords rather than owner-occupiers. It’s all been about build to rent rather than build to own.”

Mr Elphicke is one of five candidates standing for election, including former transport minister Stephen Hammond, ex-Cabinet Officer minister John Penrose and former education secretary Nicky Morgan.

The election is due to be held on Wednesday.