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Labour have accused Rishi Sunak of lying after he claimed Sir Keir Starmer wants to put taxes up by £2,000 a year.

Mr Sunak claimed multiple times during the first TV election debate that Labour’s plans for the country were not costed and would require tax rises of £2,000 per family due to a £38.5bn black hole over four years, a number he said was worked out by impartial civil servants.

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Sir Keir called the claim “absolute garbage” during the ITV debate on Tuesday, but Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth went further on Wednesday when he told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley: “This is a desperate lie.”

“He lied about Labour’s tax plans. What he said last night about Labour’s tax plans is categorically untrue,” he added.

“Labour will not put up income tax, not put up National Insurance will not put up VAT.

“And I think what we showed last night with Rishi Sunak… was how desperate he becomes – what desperate people do is they lie.”

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Sunak v Starmer debate highlights

The Labour Party said the costings relied on “assumptions from special advisers” appointed by the prime minister rather than an impartial Civil Service assessment.

Doubt was also cast on the Tory claims by a note from the Treasury’s chief civil servant which emerged on Wednesday. It said civil servants were not involved in the calculation of the total figure used and that he had reminded ministers not to present any costings as having been produced by civil servants.

A letter from a top Treasury official casting doubt on a Tory claim that civil servants have been used to put a price on Labour's spending plans
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A letter from a top Treasury official casting doubt on a Tory claim that civil servants have been used to put a price on Labour’s spending plans

The Conservatives have continually claimed during the first two weeks of the election campaign that Labour have no plans for the UK’s future.

During the debate, Mr Sunak used the same line of attack, adding: “Keir Starmer is asking you to hand him a blank cheque when he hasn’t said what he’ll buy with it or how much it’s going to cost you.”

But Mr Ashworth said: “Every commitment we are making in this campaign is funded.

“We’re explaining where every penny piece comes from.”

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Key moments from the first TV debate

Mr Ashworth also accused Mr Sunak of being “no better than Boris Johnson, who lied over parties in Downing Street in lockdown”.

“He’s exposed himself as no better and no different. He is desperate and he’s lying to the British public,” Mr Ashworth added.

Read Sky News analysis on the TV debate:
Leaders couldn’t wait to tear into each other
PM may have shaded it but probably won’t win election

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A Conservative spokesman said: “We were fair to Labour in the production of the Labour Tax rise briefing note and used clear Labour policies, their own costings or official HMT [His Majesty’s Treasury] costings using the lowest assumptions.

“For example, using Labour’s figures for the spending items in the Green Prosperity Plan using £23.7bn over four years instead of £28bn a year.

“It is now for Labour to explain which of the policies which were Labour policy no longer are Labour policy.”

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A snap YouGov poll after the debate found Mr Sunak narrowly came out on top, with 51% of the audience believing he fared better than Sir Keir.

But a poll by Savanta published on Wednesday morning had Sir Keir coming out on top with 44% and Mr Sunak on 39%, while 17% did not know.

When asked who came across as the most honest, the 1,153 adults polled by Savanta found Sir Starmer was the most honest (54%), while 29% thought Mr Sunak was.

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Sir Keir Starmer says US-UK trade talks ‘well advanced’ and rejects ‘knee-jerk’ response to Donald Trump tariffs

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Sir Keir Starmer says US-UK trade talks 'well advanced' and rejects 'knee-jerk' response to Donald Trump tariffs

Sir Keir Starmer has said US-UK trade talks are “well advanced” ahead of tariffs expected to be imposed by Donald Trump on the UK this week – but rejected a “knee-jerk” response.

Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, the prime minister said the UK is “working hard on an economic deal” with the US and said “rapid progress” has been made on it ahead of tariffs expected to be imposed on Wednesday.

But, he admitted: “Look, the likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that, nobody wants a trade war.

“But I have to act in the national interest and that means all options have to remain on the table.”

Politics latest: Ministers hail ‘huge’ minimum wage boost as bills rise

Sir Keir added: “We are discussing economic deals. We’re well advanced.

“These would normally take months or years, and in a matter of weeks, we’ve got well advanced in those discussions, so I think that a calm approach, a collected approach, not a knee-jerk approach, is what’s needed in the best interests of our country.”

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Downing Street said on Monday the UK is expecting to be hit by new US tariffs on Wednesday – branded “liberation day” by the US president – as a deal to exempt British goods would not be reached in time.

A 25% levy on car and car parts had already been announced but the new tariffs are expected to cover all exports to the US.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, earlier told Sky News he is “hopeful” the tariffs can be reversed soon.

But he warned: “The longer we don’t have a potential resolution, the more we will have to consider our own position in relation to [tariffs], precluding retaliatory tariffs.”

He added the government was taking a “calm-headed” approach in the hope a deal can be agreed but said it is only “reasonable” retaliatory tariffs are an option, echoing Sir Keir’s sentiments over the weekend.

Read more:
Why a figure of 48% is important as Trump tariffs near
Starmer and Trump discuss US-UK ‘prosperity’ deal

Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One. Pic: Reuters
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Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. Pic: Reuters

Tariff announcement on Wednesday

Mr Trump has been threatening tariffs – import taxes – on countries with the biggest trade imbalances with the US.

However, over the weekend, he suggested the tariffs would hit all countries, but did not name them or reveal which industries would be targeted.

Read more: How Trump’s tariffs could affect the UK

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‘Everything on table over US tariffs’

Mr Trump will unveil his tariff plan on Wednesday afternoon at the first Rose Garden news conference of his second term, the White House press secretary said.

“Wednesday, it will be Liberation Day in America, as President Trump has so proudly dubbed it,” Karoline Leavitt said.

“The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades. He’s doing this in the best interest of the American worker.”

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Trump’s tariffs: What can we expect?

Tariffs would cut UK economy by 1%

UK government forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said a 20 percentage point increase in tariffs on UK goods and services would cut the size of the British economy by 1% and force tax rises this autumn.

Global markets remained flat or down on Monday in anticipation of the tariffs, with the FTSE 100 stock exchange trading about 1.3% lower on Monday, closing with a 0.9% loss.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% after a volatile day which saw it down as much as 1.7% in the morning.

However, the FTSE 100 is expected to open about 0.4% higher on Tuesday, while Asian markets also steadied, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 broadly unchanged after a 4% slump yesterday.

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Blockchain Association CEO will move to Solana advocacy group

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Blockchain Association CEO will move to Solana advocacy group

Blockchain Association CEO will move to Solana advocacy group

Kristin Smith, CEO of the US-based Blockchain Association, will be leaving the cryptocurrency advocacy group for the recently launched Solana Policy Institute.

In an April 1 notice, the Blockchain Association (BA) said Smith would be stepping down from her role as CEO on May 16. According to the association, the soon-to-be former CEO will become president of the Solana Policy Institute on May 19.

The association’s notice did not provide an apparent reason for the move to the Solana advocacy organization nor say who would lead the group after Smith’s departure. Cointelegraph reached out to the Blockchain Association for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Cryptocurrencies, United States, Solana, Policy

Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith’s April 1 announcement. Source: LinkedIn

Smith, who has worked at the BA since 2018 and was deputy chief of staff for former Montana Representative Denny Rehberg, will follow DeFi Education Fund CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine, leaving his position to join the Solana Policy Institute as CEO. According to Whitehouse-Levine, the organization plans to educate US policymakers on Solana.

Related: Congress on track for stablecoin, market structure bills by August: Blockchain Association

With members from the crypto industry, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Chainlink Labs, the BA has filed a lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service, challenging regulations requiring brokers to report crypto transactions. The group often criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission under former chair Gary Gensler for its “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto, resulting in steep legal fees for many companies.

Less than 48 hours after the Solana Policy Institute’s launch, it’s unclear what the group’s immediate goals may be for engaging with US lawmakers and advocating for the industry. The organization described itself as a non-partisan nonprofit group.

Magazine: Solana ‘will be a trillion-dollar asset’: Mert Mumtaz, X Hall of Flame

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Payouts for departing civil servants capped at £95,000 under voluntary exit scheme

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Payouts for departing civil servants capped at £95,000 under voluntary exit scheme

The most senior and long-serving civil servants could be offered a maximum of £95,000 to quit their jobs as part of a government efficiency drive.

Sky News reported last week that several government departments had started voluntary exit schemes for staff in a bid to make savings, including the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, the Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office.

The Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government have yet to start schemes but it is expected they will, with the former already set to lose staff following the abolition of NHS England that was announced earlier this month.

Politics latest: PM admits cost of living crisis ‘ongoing’

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, confirmed in last week’s spring statement that the government was setting aside £150m to fund the voluntary exit schemes, which differ from voluntary redundancy in that they offer departments more flexibility around the terms offered to departing staff.

Ms Reeves said the funding would enable departments to reduce staffing numbers over the next two years, creating “significant savings” on staff employment costs.

A maximum limit for departing staff is usually set at one month per year of service capped at 21 months of pay or £95,000.

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Whitehall sources stressed the figure was “very much the maximum that could be offered” given that the average civil service salary is just over £30,000 per year.

Whitehall departments will need to bid for the money provided at the spring statement and match the £150m from their own budgets, bringing the total funding to £300m.

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Spring statement 2025 key takeaways

The Cabinet Office is understood to be targeting 400 employees in a scheme that was announced last year and will continue to run over this year.

A spokesman said each application to the scheme would be examined on a case-by-case basis to ensure “we retain critical skills and experience”.

It is up to each government department to decide how they operate their scheme.

The voluntary exit schemes form part of the government’s ambition to reduce bureaucracy and make the state more efficient amid a gloomy economic backdrop.

Ahead of the spring statement, Ms Reeves announced plans to cut civil service running costs by 15% by 2030, which ministers have said will save £2.2bn.

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Major incident declared as ‘17,000 tonnes’ of rubbish piles up

The move could result in 10,000 civil service jobs being axed after numbers ballooned during the pandemic.

Ms Reeves hopes the cuts, which she said will be to “back office jobs” rather than frontline services, but civil service unions have raised concerns that government departments will inevitably lose skilled and experienced staff.

The cuts form part of a wider government agenda to streamline the civil service and the size of the British state, which Sir Keir Starmer criticised as “weaker than it has ever been”.

During the same speech, he announced that NHS England, the administrative body that runs the NHS, would also be scrapped to eliminate duplication and cut costs.

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