The prime minister said Labour’s plans will create a £38.5bn hole in public finances over four years but Sir Keir Starmer rejected that accusation during the first leaders’ debate of the election. On Wednesday, other senior figures went further to accuse the prime minister of lying.
By Alix Culbertson, Political reporter @alixculbertson
Labour’s shadow chancellor has accused Rishi Sunak of lying after he claimed Sir Keir Starmer wants to put taxes up by £2,000 a year.
Mr Sunak claimed multiple times during the first TV election debate that Labour’s plans for the country were not costed and would require annual tax rises of £2,000 per family due to a £38.5bn black hole over four years, a number he said was worked out by impartial civil servants.
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Sir Keir called the claim “absolute garbage” during the ITV debate on Tuesday, but two members of his shadow cabinet have gone further on Wednesday and said the prime minister lied.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said: “Keir Starmer was really clear last night that what the prime minister said was utter garbage.
“I would go further than that. The prime minister lied in the debate last night about Labour’s tax plans.
“Labour will not be increasing taxes on working people. I am very clear about that. And everything in our manifesto will be fully costed and fully funded.”
She accused Mr Sunak of lying 12 times about Labour’s tax plans during the debate.
Shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth also told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley earlier: “This is a desperate lie.”
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The UK Statistics Authority, which safeguards the production and publication of official statistics, told Sky News it is “looking into” Mr Sunak’s claims Labour’s tax rises will cost families £2,000 each.
The Labour Party said the costings relied on “assumptions from special advisers” appointed by the prime minister rather than an impartial Civil Service assessment.
Doubt was also cast on the Tory claims by a note from the Treasury’s chief civil servant which emerged on Wednesday. It said civil servants were not involved in the calculation of the total figure used and that he had reminded ministers not to present any costings as having been produced by civil servants.
In the letter to Labour’s shadow Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones, the Treasury’s permanent secretary James Bowler said the £38.5bn total for Labour policies in the Tory document “includes costs beyond those provided by the Civil Service”.
“Costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service,” he said in a letter to Mr Jones on 3 June.
Ms Reeves said the letter makes it “absolutely clear” that Mr Sunak lied.
But energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the numbers were signed off by Mr Bowler, adding: “They will not sign off things which are dodgy and, if anything, this underestimates the cost to families.”
The Conservatives have repeatedly claimed during the first two weeks of the election campaign that Labour have no plans for the UK’s future.
During the debate, Mr Sunak used the same line of attack, adding: “Keir Starmer is asking you to hand him a blank cheque when he hasn’t said what he’ll buy with it or how much it’s going to cost you.”
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A Conservative spokesman said: “We were fair to Labour in the production of the Labour tax rise briefing note and used clear Labour policies, their own costings or official HMT [His Majesty’s Treasury] costings using the lowest assumptions.
“For example, using Labour’s figures for the spending items in the Green Prosperity Plan using £23.7bn over four years instead of £28bn a year.
“It is now for Labour to explain which of the policies which were Labour policy no longer are Labour policy.”
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A snap YouGov poll after the debate found Mr Sunak narrowly came out on top, with 51% of the audience believing he fared better than Sir Keir.
But a poll by Savanta published on Wednesday morning had Sir Keir coming out on top with 44% and Mr Sunak on 39%, while 17% did not know.
When asked who came across as the most honest, the 1,153 adults polled by Savanta found Sir Starmer was the most honest (54%), while 29% thought Mr Sunak was.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
