LABOUR'S £225 'COUNCIL TAX BOMBSHELL'

Angela Rayner's French-style plan to boost union rights 'will hurt families'

- David Williamson

LABOUR’S pledge to boost trade union rights would cost the average household an extra £225 a year in council tax, a report warns today.

New “fair pay agreements” championed by Angela Rayner were branded an act of “economic self-harm” that would fuel inflation and leave workers worse off.

The party’s deputy leader has made a “cast-iron commitment” to strengthen the hand of unions within the first 100 days of winning power.

But a report by a leading think tank claims the introduction of legally binding pay levels and working conditions in the social care sector alone would cost taxpayers £21billion over the next parliament.

Last night, Chief Treasury Secretary Laura Trott claimed the “French-style union laws” would lead to yet another raid on pensioners’ pockets.

She declared: “While we are protecting the triple lock and raising the state pension by £900 a year, Labour is willing to take pensioners right back to square one with higher taxes to pay for their unfunded promises.”