Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has indicated that tax increases could be on the horizon, using the phrase "tough decisions" during a Downing Street press conference on Saturday. The newly-elected Labour leader, who secured a landslide victory in the General Election, said his government would need to address the fiscal challenges with "raw honesty."
When pressed on whether the tough decisions would include tax rises not previously announced, Starmer deflected, stating: "In relation to the tough decisions, we’re going to have to take them and take them early. But that is not a sort of prelude to saying there’s some tax decision that we didn’t speak about before that we’re going to announce now." Official forecasts suggest major spending cuts may be necessary in the coming years, adding pressure on the new administration.
Starmer emphasised that the election result, which saw Labour win over 400 constituencies, provided a mandate to "do politics differently." He said he was "restless for change" and that the party had been planning for months to hit the ground running. However, he cautioned that transforming the country would not happen overnight.
The Prime Minister also declared his government would focus on delivery, contrasting it with "yesterday's politics." He highlighted the party's majority across England, Scotland, and Wales for the first time in over two decades, asserting a clear mandate to govern for all four nations of the United Kingdom.
