Martin Lewis criticises Labour tax raid stance as questions unanswered

Martin Lewis felt he didn’t get the clear-cut answers he was probing for in a hard-hitting chat with Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall. The Money Saving Expert sat down with Ms Kendall in a revealing discussion ahead of the general election on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Despite Lewis’ persistent questions about a potential tax raid on pensions, with the future of the 25% tax-free allowance teetering on the brink, the politician remained elusive – or at least, that’s how he felt. When probed if the allowance, which lets Brits withdraw a quarter of their pension pot tax-free, was set to disappear, Ms Kendall didn’t definitively dispel the possibility.

She responded: “We have set out all of our plans in the manifesto. There is nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes.” Lewis criticised her answer as “disingenuous”, pointing out that the party could still make changes not mentioned in their manifesto.

Unyielding in his line of questioning, Kendall stuck to her guns, stating: “I’m being completely straight and honest. There’s nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes. We have absolutely no plans for any other changes on taxes than is in our manifesto.”

In its manifesto, Labour has pledged not to hike up rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT. However, potential changes to other taxes such as capital gains tax, inheritance tax and council tax have not been discussed.