Sir Keir Starmer Bungling During Tax Debate

Sir Keir Starmer failed to utilize Treasury letter distancing officials from tax attack

During a recent debate, Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, missed an opportunity to address a letter from the Treasury that distanced officials from the Tories' £2,000 tax claims. The note, written by top Whitehall mandarin James Bowler, revealed that the £38 billion figure cited by Rishi Sunak should not be presented as coming from impartial Treasury economists.

Labour calls out PM as a "desperate liar"

In response to the note, Labour accused the Prime Minister of being a "desperate liar." Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth emphasized that Labour has no plans to increase income tax, National Insurance, or VAT, contrary to the claims made by Rishi Sunak during the debate.

Missed opportunity to challenge tax claims

Despite having the Treasury letter at their disposal, Sir Keir Starmer did not use it to challenge Mr. Sunak's tax claims during the debate. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended Starmer's decision, stating that he was confident the claim was false and did not expect the Prime Minister to lie during the debate.

Tories stand by tax claims

While top Tories pointed out that Bowler's letter did not explicitly refute the £38 billion figure, they highlighted that it took Sir Keir 20 minutes to challenge the total during the ITV debate. The Conservatives maintain that their tax claims are based on clear Labour policies and official HM Treasury costings.