Sir Keir Starmer will raise taxes for every working household by £2,000, Rishi Sunak said repeatedly in the first TV election debate.
The Prime Minister highlighted Treasury analysis that suggested there was a major black hole in Labour’s spending approach, arguing it would inevitably lead to higher taxes.
Throughout the hour-long ITV debate, Mr Sunak repeatedly challenged Sir Keir for more details on his proposals, including those on social care, ending strikes and tackling immigration.
The Labour leader in turn often pivoted to talking about the Conservatives’ 14-year record in office, painting it as a period of failure and saying it was time to “turn the page”. The debate saw the Prime Minister launching political attacks against the Labour leader.
A snap YouGov debate poll handed the narrowest of victories to Mr Sunak, with 51 per cent of respondents saying he performed best overall and 49 per cent saying Sir Keir did.
A breakdown of the snap poll by issue found that Mr Sunak was judged to have done better on tax and, narrowly, immigration. Sir Keir was seen to have done better on the NHS, education, cost of living and climate change.
Tax clashes dominated the debate. Mr Sunak said: “Mark my words, Labour will raise your taxes. It’s in their DNA. Your work, your car, your pension. You name it, Labour will tax it.”
At another moment the Prime Minister said of Sir Keir: “He is going to put up your taxes, put up your bills, as clear as night follows day.” At a third point he warned: “If you think Labour are going to win, start saving.”
Sir Keir countered the criticism, saying: “He is a British expert on tax rises. They’re at the highest level for 70 years.”
He also repeatedly made references to the fall-out from Liz Truss’s mini-budget.
Mr Sunak’s tax hike claim came from Treasury analysis, based on assumptions put forward by Tory special advisers, which was released recently by Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor.
It claimed Labour had made £38.5 billion in unfunded spending commitments – the equivalent of costing every working household £2,094 over the next four years.
Labour at the time rejected the analysis, claiming there were 11 errors in the assumptions.
But Sir Keir did admit that some taxes would rise under his government, after he failed to back a recent Tory pledge to prevent that from happening.
And the Labour leader appeared to accept that the state pension would be taxed for the first time by his government, after the recent Tory pledge ruling out such an approach.
Tax sets the tone
The exchanges on tax set the tone for the debate with the Prime Minister repeatedly pressing Sir Keir on his plans. The Prime Minister tried to get the Labour leader to spell out his solution on ending strikes, tackling the social care crisis, and ending the small boat migration crossings.
Sir Keir often tried to bring the debate round to the Tories’ 14-year record in office. On social care, he said a proposal would be contained in his election manifesto.
The Labour leader said in his opening statement: “This election is about a choice: more of the chaos and division of the past 14 years or turn the page and rebuilding with Labour.”
Mr Sunak said in his opening statement: “Beyond raising your taxes and raiding your pensions, no-one knows what Labour would actually do. I’ll cut your taxes, protect your pension and reduce immigration.”
During the debate it was Mr Sunak who most often went on the political attack. His front-footed approach attempting to pin Sir Keir down on his proposals.
At points, the Prime Minister was told off by the moderator, Julie Etchingham, for interrupting. Sir Keir complained at one point: “Can I just get a word in edge-ways”.
On the NHS, there were groans in the audience as Mr Sunak blamed industrial action when explaining why he had failed to hit his promise to reduce NHS waiting times in office.
Sir Keir responded by saying it “is somebody else’s fault”. Mr Sunak said he had to reject a 35 per cent pay rise demand from junior doctors and would not raise taxes.
However, the Prime Minister accused Sir Keir of not having a plan to solve the strikes: “Just standing there and saying ‘I’ll resolve it’ is not an answer. It’s not a plan.”
On immigration, there were clear differences between the two party leaders on whether they would consider pulling the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Some political figures on the Right have argued that the ECHR is making it harder to tackle the small boat crossings carrying migrants over the English Channel.
Mr Sunak said: “I’ve been crystal clear. I will choose our country’s security ahead of membership of a foreign court every single time.”
However, Sir Keir said: “If I’m prime minister we will not pull out of international agreements and international law that is respected the world over.”
Nigel Farage, the newly announced Reform leader, yesterday called for the UK to leave the ECHR. It was notable that he was barely mentioned in the hour-long debate.
Richard Holden, the Conservative Party chairman, said after the debate: “Tonight demonstrated the clear choice voters face at this election.
“Keir Starmer has no plans for our country, no plan and no ideas. He’s asking for a blank cheque.”
You can recap the evening below and join the conversation in the comments section
