TAX SPAT
Keir Starmer slams Rishi Sunak’s claims Labour will increase taxes by £2,000 – calling the Prime Minister a ‘liar’
Rachel Reeves defended Starmer's failure to use the note to shut down Rishi Sunak's claims.
SIR Keir Starmer doubled down today as he lashed out at Tory claims he'll slap £2,000 on tax bills - branding Rishi Sunak a "liar".
The opposition leader said the PM's claim of a £38billion black hole in Labour's financial plans was wrong, and showed the Tories had "resorted to lying" to try and beat him.
Sir Keir also accused Sunak of breaching the ministerial code by presenting his flagship figure as a number generated by the civil service - something the Treasury appeared to deny this morning.
The wannabe PM spoke in Portsmouth, Hants, to mark D-Day celebrations, even taking a ride on a Foxtrot 8 landing craft once used in the Falklands War.
But he was in for a bumpy ride as he faced a grilling on how much tax he would slap the public with - after Rishi Sunak claimed raising rates was in Labour's "DNA".
Probed on Tory claims the average working family would be stung for more than £2,000 a year under Labour, Starmer insisted: "All of Labour's plans are fully costed and fully funded."
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During the debate, the party boss pledged not to raise taxes but immediately conceded there were "specific" cases where rates would go up.
Asked whether he was being transparent enough, Sir Keir said: "None of our plans involve tax rises over and above the ones we've spelt out.
"But it is very important that I get across that we will not be increasing tax on working people, so no increase in income tax, in national insurance or VAT.
"And regrettably what we saw from the Prime Minister last night was a real flash of character because he resorted, when his back was against the wall, to lies and he knew he was lying.
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"We can either have more of the same, more chaos, more division, more failure, more lies, or we can turn the page and start to rebuild the country with Labour."
Earlier today, it emerged Labour had obtained a letter from the Treasury distancing itself from the £2,094 figure.
But Starmer failed to draw on the note, written by top Whitehall mandarin James Bowler, during the ITV debate.
It revealed the Tories' headline £38bn figure used "costs beyond those provided by the civil service”.
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Mr Bowler also said the number – repeatedly cited by Rishi Sunak during the ITV head-to-head – “should not be presented as having been produced" by impartial Treasury economists.
This morning Labour said the note, sent in response to a query by shadow cabinet member Darren Jones on Monday, showed the PM was a "desperate liar".
Mr Sunak had repeatedly said the damaging figure was generated by impartial Treasury economists.
Today the Office for Statistics Regulation also confirmed it was investigating the PM's claim that Labour would stage a £2,094 tax raid on families.
Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth told Sky News: “This is a desperate lie.
"He lied about Labour's tax plans. What he said last night about Labour's tax plans is categorically untrue.
"Labour will not put up income tax, not put up National Insurance will not put up VAT.
"And I think what we showed last night with Rishi Sunak was how desperate he becomes - what desperate people do is they lie."
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But probed on why Sir Keir did not use the letter to rebut Mr Sunak's attacks during the debate, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Labour leader was “really clear” that the claim was false.
She added: “I don’t think Keir Starmer expected the prime minister to lie in the debate last night”.
Top Tories pointed out Bowler's letter did not say the figure was wrong – adding it took Sir Keir 20 minutes to challenge the total in the ITV debate.
Our exclusive worm poll on Never Mind The Ballots also showed that Rishi's tax claims proved popular with voters.
Sir Keir eventually called the number “garbage” after Sunak blasted Labour’s spending plans, adding it would mean “£2,000 in higher taxes for every working family in our country”.
The Tories first used the figure as part of their advertising campaigns last month and said they used Treasury costings or Labour’s own funding figures to calculate the "black hole".
But Mr Ashworth insisted: "Every commitment we are making in this campaign is funded.
"We're explaining where every penny piece comes from."
Full letter from James Bowler to Labour's Darren Jones
Dear Darren,
Opposition Costings
Thank you for your letter dated 24 May 2024 regarding the presentation of Opposition policy costings.
As you will be aware, when costing the policies of opposition parties HM Treasury and the wider Civil Service follow established guidance set out in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance. As per this guidance, the costings produced by HM Treasury and the wider Civil Service are published on the gov.uk website. As you will expect, civil servants were not involved in the production or presentation of the Conservative Party’s document ‘Labour’s Tax Rises’ or in the calculation of the total figure used.
In your letter you highlight that the £38bn figure used in the Conservative Party’s publication includes costs beyond those provided by the Civil Service and published online by HM Treasury.
I agree that any costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service.
I have reminded Ministers and advisers that this should be the case.
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho told BBC Breakfast that Tory claim was actually “an underestimate” of the real impact of Labour’s policies.
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She added: “These are brilliant independent civil servants and they would not be putting anything dodgy in there.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “We were fair to Labour in the production of the Labour tax rise briefing note and used only clear Labour policies, their own costings or official HM Treasury costings using the lowest assumptions."
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