An accusation has been made by the leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, that the UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, lied about Labour’s spending plans during a general election debate. Sarwar claims the prime minister spread “deliberate misinformation” when he stated that under Labour’s plans, working families would suffer a tax increase of £2,000, based on costings by “independent Treasury officials”. Though the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, denied Sunak lied, a letter from the Treasury seen by the BBC has cast doubt on the Conservative claims. SNP minister, Kate Forbes, said both Labour and the Conservatives were committed to “stinging” spending cuts.
During Tuesday’s ITV debate with Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Sunak alleged again that “independent Treasury officials” had found Labour’s plans included a totalised £38bn of uncosted spending, which would result in a £2,000 tax rise for every working family. However, the chief Treasury civil servant, James Bowler, stated in a letter to Labour that the Conservatives’ assessments of their tax plans should not be “presented as having been produced by the civil service”. Bowler added that civil servants were not involved in “the production or representation” of the calculation of the figure and that he agreed that “any costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service”.
In addition, the Office for Statistics Regulation has stated that it is conducting an inquiry regarding Mr Sunak’s assertion. The statement was calculated by adding-up how much the Tories claim the Labour party’s spending plans would cost, and then dividing that by the number of UK households that contain at least one person working. The final figure, £38.5bn, which would apply over the next four years, has been disputed by the Labour party.
While campaign visits were being made in Glasgow, Anas Sarwar expressed his disbelief, stating that Sunak’s comment was “absolute deliberate misinformation and a lie from a desperate prime minister”. He asserted that there would be no tax raises for working people. While it should be noted that party manifestos have not yet been published, the Labour party has confirmed that it has ruled-out burdening the public with any increases to income tax, National Insurance and VAT. Changes made to National Insurance and VAT would apply to Scots, however income tax is devolved and set by the Scottish government.
Labour Treasury spokesperson, Rachel Reeves, also in Glasgow, stated to BBC Scotland News that “the prime minister lied in the debate last night about Labour’s tax plans. Labour will not be increasing taxes on working people.” Meanwhile, Douglas Ross, Scottish Tory leader, denied that Sunak had lied about Labour’s tax plans. He stated that the prime minister’s claim “seems to be true” because “Sir Keir had failed to ‘refute’ Mr Sunak’s comment.” Ross specified that Labour’s spending plans would leave a budget shortfall that would have to be resolved through tax increases. Nonetheless, the Conservative figures described as “fair to Labour”, use Labour costings or official Treasury costings.
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