Sir Keir Starmer has not ruled out changes to local tax rates in his government plans, while the Conservatives have stepped up their calls on the Labour Party to rule out tax increases.
When asked about changes to local tax, the Labour leader said he would not be “writing the budgets for the next five years”.
His party has already ruled out the imposition of taxes on the so-called “working population”, such as VAT, income tax and social security.
Labour plans to scrap VAT exemptions for private schools to pay for 6,500 extra state teachers and close tax loopholes for high-earning non-UK residents to free up money for other public services.
The Conservatives have tried to pressure Labour into raising taxes, citing their rivals’ lack of a manifesto on inheritance tax exemption for farmers and the need for a local referendum on raising local taxes.
In a conference call with LBC radio, Sir Keir insisted that the Labour Party was not planning any further tax increases beyond those already mentioned.
“None of our plans require tax increases beyond those we have set,” he said.
When asked whether this would include a re-assessment of the local tax brackets, he replied: “I will not sit here two and a half weeks before the election and draw up the budget plans for the next five years.”
“What I can say is that none of our plans require a tax increase, and there is a reason for that, and the reason is that we are focused on getting our economy going, building, growing, raising living standards and creating prosperity.”
When asked what he meant when he said he would not raise taxes on “working people,” Sir Keir replied: “When I say working people, I mean people who earn their living, who rely on our services and who are not really in a position to write a cheque if they get into trouble.”
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds had previously suggested to ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the Labour Party would not need to recalculate local taxes. Shadow general paymaster Jonathan Ashworth had previously made similar assurances on Monday.
Sir Keir has also been criticised over his party’s plans to abolish VAT exemption for private schools.
Michelle Catterson, headteacher of Moon Hall School in Reigate, which teaches dyslexic children, told the radio station she believed the policy meant the Labour Party did not care about children with special needs. She had previously warned that many of her pupils would be pushed into the state sector without education, health and care plans.
Sir Keir replied: “Well, Michelle, it is important to us. I want every single child, whether they go to a private school or a state school, to have the same opportunities. That is really important to me.”
He said Labour policy would make an exception for children who are on a plan and cannot get the help they need in the state sector.
Conservative Agriculture Minister Sir Mark Spencer had previously indicated that the Labour Party would not rule out changing inheritance tax for farmers.
He also stressed that the Tories did not pursue an active strategy of damage control in the election after his colleague, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, suggested that the Tories were unlikely to win the election.
Asked by Times Radio whether his party was pursuing such a strategy, Sir Mark said: “Nobody has ever told me to pursue that line. It is certainly not something I would be comfortable with. I want to fight for every single vote.”
Asked if the Conservatives were still in the running to win, he replied: “Yes, absolutely. Of course we are.”
Sir Mark also stressed that it was Rishi Sunak, not former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was driving the Tories forward, although he praised his old boss as “fantastic”.
The Telegraph had previously reported that some Conservatives had turned to Johnson to oppose the “Reform UK” movement. The former Prime Minister had written letters directly to voters appealing not to support the party’s electoral rivals.
Although Mr Johnson may be contributing to the campaign, according to his wife Carrie’s Instagram account, he is currently on holiday in Sardinia.
