Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of building a “£49billion tax bombshell” that “could mean a £1,690 tax bill for every family”. The Conservative leader’s attack follows the Budget and targets Andy Burnham’s government, with the party claiming taxpayers could face a £17billion bill for the planned National Care Service and £4billion for housebuilding.
Conservatives warn of spending pressures
The Conservatives warn that welfare spending is set to rise “even faster than expected”, with a further £4.1billion spent next year and an additional £8.3billion the year after that. An extra £28billion could be needed to meet spending pressures, it is argued, including £11billion so defence investment hits 3% of GDP by 2030.
The total figure needed could be even higher, the Conservatives warn, if the Government fails to approve drilling in the Rosebank oil field. Mrs Badenoch’s party says it would make £70billion of savings – including £36billion from welfare – and use the cash to cut the deficit and lower taxes.
Badenoch and Griffith speak out
Mrs Badenoch said: “Andy Burnham doesn’t have a serious plan for anything. He doesn’t have a plan to fund defence or control welfare spending. He only says he plans to get a plan at some point. We know now that this Government will not cut welfare in this Parliament, and will instead sit idly by as billions upon billions are added to the bill. That means they will have to find some other way to cover the colossal black hole created by their pledges – and we all know what that means: yet more tax hikes. Labour have run out of ideas, but they haven’t run out of ways to squeeze families and businesses for every penny they can get.”
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith added: “Britain is facing a fiscal cliff edge. Yet Andy Burnham has decided now is the time to open up another huge black hole in our country’s finances. We will all pay the price for it, with higher taxes and ever-higher borrowing. Instead of using the Budget to get a grip, Labour have kicked the can down the road yet again.”
Government response
A Treasury spokesperson said: “This is fiction. The Budget meets our fiscal rules, fully funds our Defence Investment Plan and puts borrowing on a clear downward path. This Government has a consistent track record of meeting these targets, and it’s through careful management of the public finances that we’ve been able to give Britain breathing space on the cost of living and cost of business.”
A Labour spokesperson went further, saying: “The Tories crashed our economy and left our public services crumbling. They should be apologising to the public, not giving another lecture. This is yet more fantasy economics from a party whose Shadow Chancellor fully backed the disastrous Liz Truss mini-Budget that sent mortgages soaring. Andy Burnham's Labour Government is bringing back hope. Thanks to the decisions Labour has taken in government, we're able to provide vital breathing space from the cost of living, and we're taking on the long-term problems that have been ignored for years.”
