Starmer accuses Sunak of lying over £2,000 tax claim
Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of lying about Labour’s tax plans during Tuesday night’s ill-tempered leadership debate, claiming the comments had given voters an “insight into his character”.
In the debate, Sunak repeatedly claimed that “there are £2,000 worth of tax rises coming for every working family in this country,” a figure he said was produced by the “independent Treasury officials”.
But speaking to reporters in Portsmouth on Wednesday afternoon, Starmer rubbished the claims. “What you saw last night was a prime minister with his back against the wall, trying desperately to defend an awful record in office, resorting to lies,” he said.
“He knew very well what he was doing. He lied about our plans,” the Labour leader added.
The Conservative Party have been approached for comment on Starmer’s remarks.
Starmer’s comments came after James Bowler, a leading Treasury official, said Sunak’s figures “should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service”.
“I have reminded ministers and advisers that this should be the case,” he said in a letter to shadow Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones, first reported by the BBC.
The tax claims come from a Conservative election document assessing Labour’s spending plans. The document suggests that Labour are facing a £38bn blackhole which will have to be financed through increasing taxes.
Although the costings are completed by the Treasury, the framing assumptions are provided by political advisers. Bowler said the figure “includes costs beyond those provided by the Civil Service”.
The dossier was published back in May and attracted criticism at the time. Nick Macpherson, a former top Treasury official, said the figures had “little if any credibility” while James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation, said they “should not be used in public discourse“.
Labour has stressed that a number of policies included in the costings are not actually Labour policies. This includes introducing regional improvement teams for schools or mental health workers in A&E suites.
Although Starmer was slow to deal with Sunak’s tax attack on Tuesday night, Labour were much more strident on Wednesday.
Darren Jones said Sunak had “lied to the British people” while Jonathan Ashworth, shadow paymaster general, said the Prime Minister’s election strategy “is to lie through his teeth”.
Despite Bowler’s comments, the Conservatives have stood by the £2,000 figure. Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho repeated the claim on Wednesday, saying it was based on “official costings from the Treasury”.
The Office for Statistics Regulation confirmed it was looking into the use of the £2,000 figure.
Although this particular costing has been challenged by independent economists, many still argue that neither party is being honest about the challenges which will face the next government.