Sir Keir Starmer returns to growing storm over rumoured budget tax rises
Is the prime minister declaring war on middle Britain in his definition of a working person and did he mislead the public in his manifesto by giving no inkling of the tens of tens of billions of pounds of tax rises happening in Wednesday’s budget?
Sir Keir Starmer’s emphatic answer to both of these questions at his closing news conference at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (Chogm) in Samoa was “no”.
But the fact they were asked gives you a sense of what he’s flying back to this weekend because the £40bn gap in the public finances that Treasury sources are whispering about will have to be filled by big tax rises and spending cuts.
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Starmer questioned on tax rises
The backlash brimming over who is going to bear the brunt comes back to the first principles of what Sir Keir told me in our leaders’ debate interview, which was that he had “no plans” to raise taxes beyond what was in the manifesto.
Back then, Labour was committed to tax rises of about £8bn, based on a tax hike on private equity, the oil and gas industry and VAT on private school fees.
Those measures would pay for more teachers in schools and doctors’ appointments in the NHS.
Now the prime minister and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, are gearing up to raise tens of billions with a 2p hike in national insurance contributions for employers, which could raise about £20bn, and possible increases in inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
Labour will of course blame the rises on its Conservative inheritance, but voters and businesses hit by tax rises next week will be forgiven for feeling misled.
For his part, the prime minister was clear in the closing news conference at the Commonwealth summit that his campaign pledge not to increase taxes on working people in terms of income tax, national insurance and VAT would be kept.
But the huge tax increases elsewhere will inevitably raise questions about whether the prime minister, who talks a lot about rebuilding trust in politics wasn’t being straight as he fought for election victory.
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He would argue that it was only after Labour lifted the bonnet on the public finances in power that he saw the extent of the damage.
But will it wash with the public given that the Conservatives ran a campaign warning of the big tax rises under Labour that are now surely on the way?
Sir Keir keeps talking about difficult decisions as he returns to what is set to be a defining week as he and his chancellor seek to land a difficult budget.
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Will the chancellor’s fiscal plan work?
The pair will be hoping that the chancellor’s decision to change her debt rules to release up to £50bn of capital to invest in Britain’s infrastructure will help tell the story of rebuilding Britain and cushion the blow of tax rises.
The prime minister had a bit of a dry run of that narrative in Samoa when he explained the hard decisions to come.
He told reporters “we are fixing the foundations, which is tough, but we are doing it on purpose because I believe very strongly that if we fix the foundations, take the tough decisions, scrub it down, make sure that our economy is on a very stable footing, which is what it will do, then that is the best platform for rebuilding the country.
“And for me, that’s the characteristics of that and what I want to be judged on is one, have we made people better off? Do they feel better off under a Labour government because we fix the foundations?”
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The problem he has in the more immediate future is that many people out there who are not hugely wealthy, who define themselves as “working people”, fear they are about to become worse off under a Starmer government.
Businesses, which Labour says it needs to rebuild the economy, are bracing for a huge new levy just months after being promised that national insurance would not rise under a Labour government.
Landlords who have properties and those who hold shares worry that this is a Labour prime minister who is coming for them after the election while not flagging he might beforehand.
His gamble is to administer the pain early in the hope of delivering real improvement in public services and living standards by the time voters go back to the polls.
In the meantime, the rocky atmosphere of his first 100 days is likely to extend into the budget and beyond.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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