RED REVOLUTION! BIGGER STATE AND HIGHER MIDDLE SPENDING

MIDDLE Britain should brace itself for tax increases, the Tories warned, after Sir Keir Starmer revealed the true scale of his radical "big state" plans for power.

- Sam Lister

In a King's Speech setting out Labour's priorities, a record 40 bills introduced major planning reforms, rail nationalisation and French-style workers' rights.

But there was no mention of desperately needed changes to fix social care or how the new government will deal with the "ballooning" welfare state.

Tories warned the scale of change planned for Sir Keir's first years in power will lead to more red tape, a bigger state and higher taxes.

Senior Tory Esther McVey said: "This King's Speech shows that Labour haven't changed.

"They remain the interfering big brother, big state, high spend, high tax party they have always been.

"When Starmer said at the start of the election campaign that he is a socialist, he clearly meant it." Former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned taxes have to rise as he criticised "vacuous" plans light on detail.

He dismissed Labour's claims that they had to wait until they were in office to look at the books as everything is published by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

Mr Duncan Smith said they "dodged" what they were going to do about "ballooning unsustainable" welfare spending caused by a rise in sickness claims since Covid.