Sir Keir Starmer hits back at growing storm over rumors of budget tax rises | Politics News

Is the Prime Minister declaring war on central Britain in his working definition and has he misled the public by giving no hint in his manifesto of the tens of billions of pounds of tax increases in Wednesday’s budget?

Sir Keir Starmer He gave a definitive answer to both of these questions in his closing press conference at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (Chogm) In Samoa it was “no”.

But asking them gives an idea of ​​where he will fly this weekend because the £40bn gap in the public finances whispered by Treasury sources will need to be filled by huge tax rises and spending cuts.

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The growing outcry about who will do the heavy lifting is based on first principles Sir Keir told me. discussion interview of our leadersthat is, he had “no plans” to raise taxes beyond what was stated in the manifesto.

At the time, Labor had committed to tax increases of around £8bn, based on tax increases on private capital, the oil and gas industry and VAT on private school fees.

These measures would pay for more teachers in schools and doctor appointments. NHS.

Now the prime minister and chancellor, Rachel Reevespoised to raise tens of billions of dollars 2p increase in national insurance contributions for employersThis could raise around £20bn, with possible increases to inheritance tax and capital gains tax.

Labor will of course blame its Tory legacy for the increases, but voters and businesses affected by next week’s tax rises will be forgiven for feeling misled.

The Prime Minister made clear at his closing press conference at the Commonwealth summit that his campaign promise not to increase taxes on working people in terms of income tax, national insurance and VAT would be kept.

But big tax rises elsewhere will inevitably raise questions about whether the prime minister, who has talked so much about rebuilding trust in politics, is being honest as he bids for election victory.

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He would claim to have seen the extent of the damage only after the ruling Labor Party lifted the lid on the public finances.

But will this attract public attention, given that the Conservatives have been running a warning campaign about massive tax rises under Labour, and they are now certainly on the way?

Sir Keir continues to talk about tough decisions as he looks back at what would be a decisive week when he and his chancellor struggled to deliver a tough budget.

The pair hope the Chancellor’s decision to change debt rules to free up up to £50bn of capital to invest in Britain’s infrastructure will help tell the story of rebuilding Britain and cushion the impact of tax rises.

The Prime Minister briefly summarized this narrative when explaining the difficult decisions that would need to be made in Samoa.

“We’re repairing the foundations, which is very difficult, but we’re doing it knowingly because I believe very strongly that if we fix the foundations, if we make the tough decisions, if we clean these up, we will make sure that our economy is in good shape,” he told reporters. If the feet are very strong, which is what he will do, then this is the best platform to rebuild the country.

“For me, those are the hallmarks of this, and what I want to be judged on is, have we made people better off? Do they feel better under a Labor government because we’ve fixed the basics?”

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The problem he will face in the near future is that many people who are not very rich and describe themselves as “working people” fear that their situation will worsen under a Starmer government.

Businesses, which Labor says are needed to rebuild the economy, are bracing for a major new tax just months after promising national insurance would not increase under a Labor government.

Owners of property and shares are worried about a Labor prime minister who will come for them after the election but cannot give any advance signals.

His gamble is to manage the pain early in the hope of delivering real improvement in public services and living standards by the time voters return to the polls.

Meanwhile, the difficult atmosphere of its first 100 days is likely to spread to the budget and beyond.