Rishi Sunak's misleading claims during Tuesday's live debate may have cost the Tories one of their most traditional backers. During the ITV election debate, the Prime Minister repeatedly said that Labour's plan would hike taxes by £2,000 per family, adding that the figures had been costed by “independent Treasury officials” – which the department later distanced itself from. The comments have sparked a devastating backlash for the Tory leader.
Mr Sunak's claim was first called into question by a note from the Treasury's chief civil servant, which said the Conservative assessment “should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service”.
The political move appears to have lost the PM one of the Conservative Party's biggest backers, The Spectator magazine. The magazine's editor Fraser Nelson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that using the same calculations that came up with the £2,000 figure shows the Tories' tax plans would cost British families even more.
He tweeted a link to his article explaining the calculations, adding: “The Tories say Labour's plans would cost £2,000 – but if you apply their methodology to their own (published) tax plans it works out at a £3,000 tax rise.”
This prompted Sky News anchor Kay Burley to remark: “Losing the Spectator is a watershed moment.”
Mr Nelson responded that it was “still early days,” adding: “I'm not so sure I'd read that much into it. The Spectator has always scrutinized and poked fun at all political parties – and Labor hasn't yet given us much to fact-check.”
The damning revelation from The Spectator comes as a Sky News analysis revealed that the same formulas used to criticize Labor show that each household has experienced £13,000 in extra taxes under the Conservative Government since 2019.
Ms Burley put this analysis to Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, saying: “If we add things up the same way you added things up for Sunak's claim of Labour's £2,000 tax hit, it would show that the Conservatives have increased taxes by £13,000 .”
Mr Stride dismissed the analysis, saying it was a “number out of context”.
Following the controversial debate claims, Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Sunak was “desperately lashing out and resorting to lies”. The Labor leader said Mr Sunak “knew he was lying” when he made the claim – and he insisted Labor would not bring in tax rises for “working people”.
Like the Conservatives, Labor has pledged not to increase the rate of income tax, National Insurance and VAT if it wins the election.
The Tories said Labor was “throwing stones from a house made from the thinnest of glass”.
However, Robert Chote, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, told the BBC that his body was investigating the claims.
He said: “The prime minister, ministers, basically said or implied that this had been signed off in total by the Treasury, the Treasury permanent secretary has himself said that that wasn't the case. And clearly having that in dispute is not great. for overall trust in the dialogue and in the debate as a whole.”
In another blow to Mr Sunak's hopes, Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith admitted on BBC Newsnight that it was “very hard to make the case for five more years for the Conservative party”.