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Reform UK is shaking up the general election campaign pulling to within two points behind the Tories in a shocking YouGov poll.
The latest survey conducted just before the ITV debate has put Labour leading the race with 40%, the Tories on 19%, Reform UK on 17%, the Liberal Democrats on 10% and the Greens on 7%.
If that wasn’t enough nightmare for Rishi Sunak, he is being investigated by the UK’s official statistics regulator for his claim that Labour will hike household taxes by £2,000.
But Mr Sunak’s frosty attack hasn’t landed well among shadow ministers, who have accused him of lying to voters. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said lied 12 times during the debate.
Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler wrote to Labour on Monday to dismiss the claim. The figure “includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service and published online by HM Treasury”, he told shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.
But it appears the PM is stubbornly sticking to the accusations and warned voters that Labour would cause a “£2,094 tax hike” if they win.
Key Points
- Faiza Shaheen to run as independent candidate
- Jeremy Corbyn officially stands as independent candidate
- Sunak's £2,000 Labour tax hike claim investigated by UK statistics regulator
- Sunak doubles down despite humiliating letter
- Labour challenges Tories to TV debate over £2,000 tax claim
Treasury minister denies Sunak lied over Labour tax plans
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott has denied the Prime Minister misled voters and insists the independent analysis found a black hole in Labour’s pledges’ funding.
She said: “What is absolutely clear is that due to independent analysis Labour have a £38bn black hole in their policies.
“That will lead to £2,000 in extra taxes for every family up and down the United Kingdom.
“This is underpinned overwhelmingly by Treasury analysis so if people think Labour are going to win this election they need to start saving.”
Starmer: Rishi Sunak broke ministerial code by lying during debate
Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Mr Sunak a liar and claimed he breached ministerial code after accusing Labour of a plot to hike taxes by £2,000 per household.
The row was sparked from a dossier from the Tories which laid out what they believe is the cost of Labour’s policies.
Keir Starmer told LBC: “He breached the ministerial code because he lied and he lied deliberately.
“Because we have made clear that our plans are fully costed, fully funded, they do not involve tax rises for working people – so that’s no income tax rise, no national insurance rise, no VAT rise.
“And the Prime Minister, with his back against the wall, desperately trying to defend his awful record in office, resorted to lies and he knew what he was doing, he knew very well what he was doing.”
Salma Ouaguira5 June 2024 20:30 1717614025Blocked Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen will stand as an independent
Blocked candidate Faiza Shaheen will stand against Labour as an independent
Faiza Shaheen will take on Tory grandee Iain Duncan Smith as an independent candidate
Salma Ouaguira5 June 2024 20:00 1717612225Minister said Treasury chief had signed off on the attack personally
A senior minister said the Treasury permanent secretary had personally signed off on the Tories’ £2,000 tax attack line, just minutes before his letter rubbishing it was made public, Archie Mitchell reports.
Energy secretary Claire Coutinho told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is something which has been signed off by the Treasury by the permanent secretary of the Treasury as the amount of the proposals that the Labour Party have put forward so far.
“£2,000 [of tax hikes] is the last thing that people need.”
Just minutes later it emerged Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler wrote to the Labour Party on Monday to trash the claim.
The figure “includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service and published online by HM Treasury”, he told shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.
“I agree that any costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service,” Mr Bowler added.
In a scathing letter, he said: “I have reminded ministers and advisers that this should be the case.”
Mr Bowler set out how the costings relied upon by Mr Sunak were nothing to do with impartial civil servants, and stressed that the Treasury was “not involved in the production of presentation of the Conservative Party’s document ‘Labour’s Tax Rises’ or the calculation of the total figure used”.
Salma Ouaguira5 June 2024 19:30 1717610440‘Red-handed’
One LSE student laughed off Rishi Sunak’s claim that NHS waiting lists are improving.
“If you go to the NHS, it’s impossible to get anything – it’s getting worse and worse,” he said.
Postgraduate urban planning student Petar, 23, from Serbia, thought Sunak was caught “completely red-handed” on waiting lists.
“If something could put an end to the debate in terms of who was the winner, I think that was it,” he said.
The prime minister was backed by one social sciences PhD candidate, who said: “Rishi Sunak is in a hard position – he’s doing his best.” He added: “The thought of a Labour government terrifies me.”
Howard Mustoe5 June 2024 19:00 1717610425 Salma Ouaguira5 June 2024 19:00 1717610380‘Ultimate lack of charisma’
Following a television debate in which tax and spending took centre stage, Canqi Li spoke to people outside London School of Economics to ask what they make of the campaign.
“The debate was quite forgettable because of both Sunak’s and Starmer’s ultimate lack of charisma,” said Sinan Akyol (pictured), 23, a political behaviour student.
One staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The debate in general was quite dry. Throughout the debate, both candidates were quite boring... but Rishi Sunak did make me laugh at the end.”
Lecturer in disaster studies Pedro Lima, 33, said: “I was a bit disappointed in both candidates – I’m not a huge fan of either of them, less of a fan of Sunak.”
According to one social sciences PhD candidate, Keir Starmer came across as “really weak”. “He really didn’t have a vision of the future.”
The big talking point from the debate was the now-debunked claim by Sunak that Labour planned to raise taxes by £2,000, but one master’s degree student said: “If our rivers weren’t being dumped full of waste, if our schools weren’t crumbling apart, and if our doctors and nurses didn’t have to stand on their own feet, I’m not completely opposed to it.”
He added: “In Northern Europe, the Nordic states pay much more tax, but everything works like clockwork there – it’s perfect.”
Howard Mustoe5 June 2024 18:59 1717608659Home Office confirms more than 40,000 crossed Channel after Sunak pledged to ‘stop the boats’
More than 40,000 crossed Channel after Sunak pledged to ‘stop the boats’
Rishi Sunak has suffered a new setback this morning with new Home Office figures on small boats Channel crossings with asylum seekers
Salma Ouaguira5 June 2024 18:30 1717606825Rishi Sunak and the truth about a ‘Canada 1993’ election wipeout
Rishi Sunak and the truth about a ‘Canada 1993’ election wipeout
Over 30 years ago in Canada, a ruling Conservative Party was demolished in an election thanks to a party called ‘Reform’. But anyone predicting history will repeat itself in Britain this year is set to be sorely disappointed, writes Jabed Ahmed
Salma Ouaguira5 June 2024 18:00 1717605649Labour MP: 'Senedd motion is a political stunt’
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