Starmer defends pledges despite 'stealth tax' plans

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that his government will not break Labour’s manifesto pledge over raising taxes on working people despite growing concerns about plans for stealth taxes to help fund the NHS.

- DAVID MADDOX

The prime minister is set to reveal new plans for the NHS which will include billions in extra investment accompanied by wholesale reform.

The revelation comes as The Independent has been told that a plan is being put together by the UK’s most powerful think tank Labour Together on how Labour will win the next election. The think tank’s former director Morgan McSweeney is now Sir Keir’s chief of staff and a source has said that “the NHS and cost of living” will be the two pillars for a Labour victory in 2029.

But the demands to provide extra funding for the NHS is adding more pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has already told her colleagues she needs to find £40bn of savings and tax rises just to stand still.