Labour accuse Sunak of lying over £2,000 tax attack during election debate as Treasury note casts doubt on claim

Published

5 months ago

June 5, 2024

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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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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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.”

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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NHS league tables and cancelled pay rises for managers among government health reforms

Published

5 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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NHS league tables and cancelled pay rises for managers among government health reforms

NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones.

The changes form part of the Labour government’s strategy to reduce waiting lists “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.

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Health and the state of the NHS were consistently among the most important issues for voters at this year’s general election – with Labour blaming the Conservatives for “breaking” it.

As health is a devolved area, any reforms proposed in Westminster would only apply to England.

Chief among Mr Streeting’s proposals is a “league table” for NHS trusts.

An announcement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS England will carry out a no-holds-barred sweeping review of NHS performance across the entire country, with providers to be placed into a league table.

“This will be made public and regularly updated to ensure leaders, policy-makers and patients know which improvements need to be prioritised.”

It also promises to replace “persistently failing managers” – with “turn around teams” being sent in to improve trusts running sizeable deficits or offering poor service to patients.

The government says “senior managers” who fail to make progress will not be eligible for pay rises.

There will be “financial implications” for more senior figures such as chief executives if their trust does not improve.

On the flip-side, those trusts that are deemed to be “high-performing” will get “greater freedom over funding and flexibility”.

Senior leaders at these trusts will also be “rewarded”.

The government says the current system is not incentivising trusts to run a budget surplus, as they cannot benefit from it.

Mr Streeting said: “The budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.

“Today we are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.

“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in.

“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.

“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”

Concerns from health representatives

Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.

“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”

Further plans on how monitoring will be published by the start of the next financial year in April 2025, the government said.

Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation – a body that represents all NHS trusts – said healthcare leaders welcome the “government’s ambition”.

However, he said he was concerned league tables and reducing pay may “strip out” the nuance of what’s going on.

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Mr Taylor said: “NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.

“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”