'No cast iron guarantee I won't raise taxes again', Starmer warns Brits of harsh fiscal reality ahead of budget
28 October 2024, 17:33 | Updated: 28 October 2024, 17:38
Sir Keir Starmer failed to rule out future tax rises as he confirmed there will be such increases in Wednesday's budget.
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The Prime Minister delivered a speech in Birmingham on Monday ahead of the government's bid to fill a £22 billion "black hole" in public finances.
He said it was his intention to deal with the “tough stuff” this week as he confirmed there will tax rises but he could not give a “cast iron guarantee” that there would not be similar increases in future budgets.
Asked if Wednesday's tax rises would be the first and last, the Prime Minister said: “We are fixing the foundations in this Budget. So that is the purpose of this Budget, to take the difficult decisions now.
“Nobody wants tax rises, least of all me, so we will do the hard work in this Budget to allow us then to rebuild the country.
“I can’t give you a cast iron guarantee that never again in any Budget will there be any adjustment to tax because we just don’t know what is round the corner.”
Sir Keir said that “it is our intention to take the tough decisions here and now” and the “tough stuff is coming in this Budget”.
“But I am going to resist the temptation to say that at no point ever will there ever be an adjustment to anything else in the future,” he said.
Sir Keir had earlier confirmed in his speech that tax rises will occur this time around as he said: "It is time to embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality.
"Stability to prevent chaos. Borrowing will drive long term growth. Tax rises to prevent austerity and rebuild public services."
He did not specify what tax rises would be included, but it is widely expected that employer national insurance will go up, alongside possible increases to capital gains and inheritance tax.
He has hailed the Budget as one for "working people", sparking growing questions over the definition.
Labour had pledged in their manifesto not to increase taxes on working people - ruling out a rise in VAT, national insurance and income tax.
The PM said: "Trust in my project to return Britain to the service of working people can only be earned through actions, not words.
"Change must be felt. But every decision that we have made, every decision that we will make in the future, will be made with working people in our mind's eye, people who have been working harder and harder for years just to stand still.
"People doing the right thing, maybe still finding a little bit of money to put away, paying their way, even in the cost-of-living crisis.
"But who feel that this country no longer gives them or all their children a fair chance.
"People stuck on an NHS waiting list, whose town centre is blighted by antisocial behaviour, who can't afford to buy a place that they can call home, or can't afford the home they have because of the mortgage bombshell."
The prime minister also announced the £2 bus fare cap will rise to £3, while £240m will be injected into efforts to get people back to work.
