Keir Starmer insists it is ‘essential politicians keep on with phrase’ in Budget grilling
Keir Starmer has insisted it is ‘important that politicians stick to their word’ as he was grilled on possible taxes hitting working people at next week’s Budget
Keir Starmer has insisted it is “important that politicians stick to their word” as he was grilled on possible taxes hitting working people at the Budget.
The Prime Minister today declined to rule out extending a freeze on income thresholds – often referred to as stealth taxes – despite Chancellor Rachel Reeves previously warning it would hurt workers.
With the make-or-break Budget just days away, Mr Starmer repeatedly swerved questions on tax, but said he had in his “mind’s eye people struggling with the cost of living”.
Speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit, the PM repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether extending the freeze could hurt working people.
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Labour promised not to raise taxes – including VAT, national insurance and income tax – on working people in its manifesto but a freeze in income tax thresholds could see people being dragged into a higher tax bracket.
Asked if it is important that politicians stick to their word, Mr Starmer said: “Yes it is important that politicians stick to their word. They have to make decisions against a difficult backdrop and we’ve obviously got big decisions to make in the Budget that’s coming in just a few days.”
The PM was directly challenged on Rachel Reeves’s comment at last year’s Budget about income tax thresholds, when she told MPs: “I have come to the conclusion that extending the threshold freeze would hurt working people. It would take more money out of their payslips.”
Mr Starmer told Channel 4 News: “I’ll be really clear. It will be a Labour Budget with Labour values, and that means that there will be the principle of fairness running through it.
“The three principles on which we built the Budget are, firstly, further protection for our public services, particularly the NHS. We’ve invested a huge amount in the NHS and waiting lists are beginning to come down.
“We need to bear down and cut debt, fundamentally important for our economy and our country, but also, and centrally to bear down and cut the cost of living. Because for all of your viewers, for families and communities across the country, the number one issue is the cost of living.
“So they’ll be the principles in place when we spell out the budget in just a few days time.”
