‘They’re behaving like they’ve just arrived from the moon’: Labour’s Keir Starmer blasts jostling Tory leadership rivals over ‘fantasy economics’ tax cut plans after months spent defending Boris Johnson’s increases
- Sir Keir accused Tory leadership rivals over £200bn-worth of uncosted tax cuts
- Pledges by Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi, Grant Shapps, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid
- Labour leader said many spent months silently backing Boris Johnson’s taxes
Sir Keir Starmer accused Tory leadership hopefuls of plucking £200 billion of un-costed commitments from the ‘magic money tree’ today as he accused them of ‘fantasy economics’.
The Labour leader used a speech in Gateshead to lash out at the dozen or so MPs vying to replace Boris Johnson, as they seek to woo colleagues by pledging huge tax cuts.
Tory candidates including Cabinet ministers Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi and Grant Shapps, as well as former secretaries of state Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, have vowed to reduce them if they win.
But Sir Keir pointed out that many of them were making the pledges after spending months silently backing Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak as they increased the tax burden on families.
‘Over the weekend, the contenders have made more than £200billion worth of unfunded spending commitments. Let that sink in,’ he said.
‘That’s more than the annual budget of the NHS, splurged onto the pages of the Sunday papers, without a word on how it’ll be paid for.
‘And on taxes, the vast majority of them served in Boris Johnson’s government. They went out every day for months and years to defend his behaviour.
‘They backed every one of his 15 tax rises. They’re behaving like they’ve just arrived from the moon.
The Labour leader used a speech in Gateshead to lash out at the dozen or so MPs vying to replace Boris Johnson as they seek to woo colleagues.
Tory candidates including Cabinet ministers Liz Truss (pictured), Nadhim Zahawi and Grant Shapps, as well as former secretaries of state Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, have pledged tax cuts if they win.
Rishi Sunak has said he plans to cut taxes, but not until the economic situation improves and inflation is brought under control
‘They nodded along and trooped through the voting lobbies to support them.
‘Now, it turns out they were opposed to them all along. The hypocrisy is nauseating.’
He accused the candidates trying to lead the Conservative Party of ‘desperately trying to launder its integrity’ after it was ‘infected with the chaos virus caught from Boris Johnson’.
But Sir Keir was forced to defend allegations about his own personality as he seeks to lead the country, declaring: ‘The only thing that’s boring is opposition.’
He challenged candidates to ‘tell us precisely where they’re getting that money from’, whether it is from cuts to public services or increases to borrowing.
‘Or is it the magic money tree that they’ve suddenly discovered having arrived back down here from the moon where they’ve been for the last 12 years?’ he said.
As he demands a general election, Sir Keir did not rule out tax cuts if he entered No 10.
Instead he said: ‘We won’t be making any unfunded commitments, everything we say will be funded and that will be set out.’
During an interview with broadcasters, he added that he wants a ‘fair tax system’ that would ‘reduce the burden on working people’.
Senior Conservative Robert Jenrick, who is backing former chancellor Rishi Sunak, is among those criticising promises of ‘fantasy tax cuts’ during a strain on ‘credibility’.
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