Sunak Lied To Country Over Labour Tax And Spend Plans, Says Starmer

Counter offensive seeks to regain control after PM's contentious claims

- Peter Walker, Aletha Adu, Jessica Elgot

Rishi Sunak lied to the country and broke the ministerial code when he claimed Labour's spending plans would increase taxes by £2,000, Keir Starmer said yesterday as his party attempted to regain control of the election narrative.

Both Starmer and the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, rounded on Sunak in an increasingly bitter and personal war of words, saying the prime minister's tactics during Tuesday night's TV debate showed he was dishonest under pressure.

The Tories were jubilant at how the figure had landed on Tuesday night and some Labour insiders privately horrified at how slow Starmer was to challenge the claims in the debate.

But a YouGov poll 24 hours after the ITV head-to-head debate threatened to shatter the Conservatives' moment of hopefulness, putting Reform within two points of the party and Labour on 40%. Both main parties are expected to launch their manifestos next week.

The debate triggered a flash of panic for Labour as Sunak repeatedly said "independent Treasury officials" had costed Labour's policies "and they amount to a £2,000 tax rise for everyone", an assertion the Labour leader initially struggled to counter.

Labour launched a counteroffensive yesterday morning with videos accusing Sunak of lying, the first time the party has levelled that accusation. To make the case, Labour released a letter from James Bowler, the Treasury's permanent secretary, in which he said ministers should not suggest civil servants had produced the figure.