‘You name it, Labour will tax it’: UK PM Sunak attacks main rival as he languishes in election polls

‘You name it, Labour will tax it’: UK PM Sunak attacks main rival as he languishes in election polls


U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left), leader of the incumbent Conservatives, and opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer of the Labour Party. The politicians traded barbs in their first head-to-head debate on Tuesday ahead of the July 4 General Election.

Pa Images | Getty Images

LONDON — Taxes emerged as a key battleground in the first live televised debate of the U.K. election race, as party leaders addressed public concern over the cost-of-living crisis.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, leader of the incumbent Conservative Party which is trailing in the polls, said the opposition Labour Party’s policies would amount to a £2,000 ($2,553.73) tax rise for “every working family,” based on an analysis by independent Treasury officials.

“I’m clear that I’m going to keep cutting people’s taxes as we now are … Mark my words, Labour will raise your taxes, it’s in their DNA. Your work, your car, your pension. You name it, Labour will tax it,” Sunak said.

He repeated a new Conservative pledge to raise the U.K.’s tax-free pension allowance through a “triple lock” program.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said the £2,000 calculation was “based on made-up Labour policies.”

Starmer said that his party would only offer “fully costed” policies, and would raise funds by changing carried interest tax rules on private equity, fulfilling the closure of the so-called “non-dom” tax regime, ending tax breaks on independent schools and increasing the windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Starmer accused the Conservatives of damaging public finances during the 2022 premiership of Liz Truss, who lasted just 45 days as prime minister before resigning after a series of shock fiscal announcements jolted financial markets and threatened to destabilize British pension funds.

He also said the Conservatives had overseen a rise in taxes to a 70-year high.

When asked by debate moderator Julie Etchingham of ITV News, both leaders said they would not raise income tax or national insurance — a general taxation — during the next parliament.

Campaign trail

Sunak surprised politicians and the public alike late last month when he called an election for July 4. Most had expected a vote to take place later in the year.

The parties have since launched into campaign mode, along with smaller rivals including the Greens, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and the Reform Party.

While official manifestos are not yet out, the Conservatives have pledged to introduce national service for school leavers, push ahead with their controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, and raise the existing tax-free pension allowance.

UK election is looking 'difficult' for Conservative party, analyst says

Labour’s commitments include the establishment of a new publicly-owned British energy company, bringing train operators under public ownership and increasing the minimum wage.

Both parties have pledged to cut long patient wait times for the U.K.’s struggling National Health Service.

Under Starmer and his shadow finance minister, Rachel Reeves, Labour has courted the business vote and undergone a significant shift toward the political center. That has caused controversy among some of its supporters, with the leadership accused of excluding political candidates on the left wing of the party.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a statement in the rain outside 10 Downing Street, announcing the UK general election will take place on 4 July in London, United Kingdom on May 22, 2024.

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

A Labour win would mark its first parliamentary majority in 14 years.

Polls have for some time been pointing toward a Labour victory in a general election after the Conservatives’ ratings tanked following a series of scandals under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tenure.

The party has failed to gain traction with the public since Johnson’s resignation in July 2022.

Following Truss’s short time in office, Sunak has since overseen a period of relative political stability, but polls still suggest a high dissatisfaction with his premiership.



Source

Trump’s 50% copper tariff includes a major exemption. That won’t halt price rises
World

Trump’s 50% copper tariff includes a major exemption. That won’t halt price rises

Copper rods in storage at the Aurubis AG metal refinery in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images A major exemption to President Donald Trump’s 50% copper tariff has shocked traders and sent U.S. market prices plummeting. The final order on copper tariffs, which the Trump administration says will […]

Read More
German inflation dips to cooler-than-expected 1.8% in July
World

German inflation dips to cooler-than-expected 1.8% in July

Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz: Fruit is sold at the weekly market. Andreas Arnold/dpa | Picture Alliance | Getty Images German inflation fell more than expected to 1.8% in July, data from statistics agency Destatis showed Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated inflation to dip to 1.9%. July’s reading compares to the 2% print recorded in June, […]

Read More
CNBC’s Inside India newsletter: Why an India-U.K. trade deal does not make U.S.-India agreement any easier
World

CNBC’s Inside India newsletter: Why an India-U.K. trade deal does not make U.S.-India agreement any easier

CNBC reporter Ganesh Rao with India Commerce Secretary Piyush Goyal © George Bextor, CNBC Hello, this is Ganesh Rao, CNBC’s senior correspondent, writing from London. This week, I look into India’s willingness and limitations to strike trade deals after I sat down with the country’s Commerce Secretary Piyush Goyal. Enjoy! This report is from this […]

Read More