Tory fightback launched as Hunt accuses Labour of 'lie'

Jeremy Hunt accused Labour of telling "a lie" about Tory tax plans as he launched his party's fightback in the week that saw the starting gun fired for the election campaign. In an unusually fiery speech, the chancellor claimed that Labour's attempt to scare voters about the future of the state pension was "disgraceful".

- DAVID MADDOX

He also alleged that "the most conservative estimate" had concluded that Sir Keir Starmer's spending plans would cost £38.5bn, meaning that "Labour will have no choice but to put up taxes further" to fill a £10bn black hole in government finances by 2028-29.

Mr Hunt acknowledged that "difficult decisions" had been needed because of the global financial shock brought about by the Covid pandemic, and said that the war in Ukraine had forced him to increase taxes. However, he insisted that the election "will be framed [by] what the parties want to do about the tax burden".

He added: "There is a choice. The Labour Party does not want, and a future Labour government does not want, to cut the tax burden. A future Conservative government will. That is the big choice in British politics, and our argument is, this isn't just about family budgets."

He went on: "We understand how important those are when it comes to cost-of-living pressures. Our argument is, this is about the future growth of the economy, because we can see looking around the world that more lightly taxed economies have more dynamic private sectors, they grow faster, and, in the end, that is more money for precious public services like the NHS."