Dear Sir Robert,
LABOUR PARTY ECONOMIC CLAIMS
I am writing to express my serious concerns about the Labour Party’s misleading economic analysis following a series of incorrect claims about the Conservative Party’s commitments and Labour’s own plans.
In relation to the Conservatives plans, Labour published a document on 29 May 2024 claiming that the Conservatives had unfunded plans of £71 billion a year in the next Parliament. Senior
members of the Shadow Cabinet have subsequently repeatedly used the number in media interviews.
For example, on 29 May 2024, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones held a press conference repeating the figure. This was parroted by the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the same day to The Sun Newspaper, stating: “Jeremy Hunt needs to explain how he is going to fund his £71 billion unfunded spending plans”.
This week, Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth repeated the figure in seven different media interviews.
The document included numerous assumptions about Conservative policy which were deliberately misleading, including that the Conservative Party planned to:
- Scrap national insurance on 1 April 2025
- Abolish inheritance tax on 1 April 2025
- Scrap green levies on 1 April 2025
Given these are not, and never have been, Conservative Party policy, please can you confirm that using the £71 billion figure publicly is misleading, and that Labour figures should cease to use it?
In addition, both Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have repeatedly said that their plans do not involve raising taxes on working people.
For example, on 5 June 2024 Rachel Reeves said on the BBC that “Labour has no plans to increase taxes on working people”. On the same day, Keir Starmer said “it’s important that I get across that we will not be raising tax on working people”.
However, Labour has committed to levy VAT on private schools. This is a tax that would clearly be paid by working parents. Can you therefore please confirm that it is misleading for Labour to say it has no plans to raise tax on working people?
I look forward to hearing from you.
THE RT HON RICHARD HOLDEN
CHAIRMAN OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY
Related links
Letter from Sir Robert Chote to Rt Hon Richard Holden – party spending claims