Letwin: Labour manifesto means higher taxes
Conservative Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin today said Labour’s manifesto promises would result in higher taxes.
Speaking in London ahead of Labour’s manifesto launch, Mr Letwin acknowledged that Labour was pledging to spend more than the Conservatives, but questioned how they would pay for it.
“This morning, Labour will present their manifesto, but I doubt they will tell you how they are going to pay for it,” he said.
“The promises made in that manifesto will be based on their plans to borrow, spend and tax. Because they are planning to spend more and borrow more than we are, they will have to tax more.”
The Conservatives are hitting back following Labour’s attack on their spending plans. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tony Blair described Conservative spending proposals as a “complete incoherent mess”, while Chancellor Gordon Brown said Oliver Letwin would have a “black hole” of £18.9 billion in the first year of a Conservative government.
Today, Conservative Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury George Osborne highlighted that Mr Blair “has form on tax”.
“Straight after the 1997 election, he raised tax – the biggest being his £5 billion a year raid on Britain’s pension funds,” he added.
“Before the 2001 election, he said that people ‘shouldn’t’ suppose that he would put up National Insurance contributions if he won another term. As soon as he won the election, he put up National Insurance contributions.”
A poll of economists in the Financial Times last week revealed that 90 per cent of them expect Labour to raise taxes if they win the election.
Labour is planning to spend £12 billion more than the Conservatives in 2007/08 and £35 billion more in 2011/12.
