Sir Keir Starmer sparked fury in the Commons after refusing to reaffirm his party’s manifesto tax pledges.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of backtracking on his promises, reminding MPs that Labour won last year’s General Election on a commitment not to raise income tax, National Insurance, or VAT.
Pressing him across the dispatch box, Mrs Badenoch asked whether he would confirm that those pledges still stood.
Sir Keir hit back, saying: “I’m glad the leader of the opposition is finally talking about the economy. Growth has been upgraded this year, and the UK stock market is at an all-time high.”
He added: “The Budget is on November 26, when we’ll set out our plans. But I can tell the House now that we will build a stronger economy, cut NHS waiting lists, and deliver a better future for our country.”
Mrs Badenoch described his response as “fascinating,” noting it differed from the answer he gave in July when she asked “the same question word-for-word”.
“What’s changed?” she pressed. The Prime Minister replied: “As she well knows, no Prime Minister or Chancellor ever sets out their plans in advance.
“What I can say is this: the latest productivity review confirms the Conservatives did even more damage to the economy than we previously thought — and now we will turn that around.”
Sir Keir Starmer sparked fury in the Commons after refusing to reaffirm his party’s manifesto tax pledges
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He has previously said the commitment Labour made to voters before the 2024 general election “stands”.
Sir Keir also refused to rule out extending the freeze on the personal tax allowance threshold, which drags more earners into paying income tax.
His remarks will fuel expectations that Rachel Reeves’s Budget will involve further major tax rises as she seeks to close a multi-billion pound gap in her plans.
He noted that the freeze was introduced by the Conservatives.
Sir Keir also refused to rule out extending the freeze on the personal tax allowance threshold, which drags more earners into paying income tax
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It is due to end in April 2028.
Mrs Badenoch said: “If you work, they tax you more. If you save, they tax you more. If you buy a home, they tax you more. None of these taxes were in the manifesto, which he had four years to prepare.
“He is raising taxes because he is too weak to control spending. He’s blaming us. He’s blaming the OBR. Last week, they were blaming Brexit.”
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned earlier this month that Ms Reeves could need to find £22billion of tax rises or spending cuts if she is to restore the £10billion of headroom she left herself against her debt targets in the spring.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of backtracking on his promises
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That gap is the result of higher borrowing costs, more persistent inflation and weaker growth, along with spending commitments such as partially reversing the cut to winter fuel payments and watering down plans to cut welfare.
Ms Reeves hopes that better-than-expected inflation figures and a slight improvement in some growth forecasts will help ease the pressure.
But the gap could be even bigger than feared, following media reports that the OBR is preparing to downgrade its productivity forecasts by 0.3 percentage points.
Each percentage point downgrade means the Chancellor needs to find around £7billion to meet her plans, and the IFS forecast suggested a downgrade of only 0.2 points.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch asked whether the Prime Minister would confirm that his pledges still stood
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This could leave Ms Reeves with a gap of almost £30billion, even before she tries to pay for the expected abolition of the two-child benefit cap.
The pound fell sharply on Wednesday following reports that the OBR had cut its productivity forecast, due to be unveiled in the Budget.
Sir Keir’s press secretary declined to say the Labour manifesto still “stands” on not raising VAT, income tax or national insurance.
She told reporters: “The Budget is on November 26. We’re still waiting for the OBR’s final forecasts, and we’re not going to pre-empt the Budget.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s remarks will fuel expectations that Rachel Reeves’ Budget will involve further major tax rises as she seeks to close a multi-billion pound gap in her plans
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Pressed on whether it was fair to link the change in stance to a larger-than-expected productivity gap, she said: “The productivity performance we inherited from the previous government was too weak.
“As the Prime Minister set out, the inheritance that we received from the last government was even worse than we all previously thought.
“Their disastrous austerity approach, their botched Brexit deal and Liz Truss’s borrowing binge did serious damage to the economy, and it’s fallen to this Government to clean up their mess.
“And that’s why at the next Budget, there’ll be no return to the austerity that broke the country, no return to the instability of their mad borrowing sprees and an end to the low-growth trap that has squeezed living standards for working people.”
