A disgruntled Martin Lewis has expressed his displeasure at the Tories for using a video of him on a social media platform, insinuating that the esteemed finance expert stated the Labour party would raise taxes. The creator of Money Saving Expert deconstructed the Tory’s promotional material, highlighting that “NO WHERE” in the content did he talk about taxes.
The Money Saving Expert clarified he was referring to a “positive change” that Labour wished to bring about. The snippet, taken from Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain show, had Mr Lewis discussing his behind-the-scenes talks with the two primary political parties.
He elaborated, “I spoke with a high-ranking member of the Labour Party, a confidential discussion, as I do with both parties and the precise phrase they used with me, when I inquired about a particular policy, was: ‘We’re not including it in our manifesto because I can’t promise. We’ll execute it but my goal is to do it during the next Parliament.” according to the Mirror.
The Conservatives edited the video and posted it on Twitter, along with a text saying: “They’re not being completely honest. Labour said they wouldn’t increase your taxes. But it’s now evident that they plan to raise them.”
Mr. Lewis promptly retorted on social media, asserting: “NO WHERE in my statements do I mention taxes. And the policy I referred to (which I won’t disclose as it was confidential) was NOT about taxes, or tax increases, but was something that would be a positive shift.”
The Tories have been spotlighting tax issues during the election skirmish, yet they’ve had to rectify their claim that Labour would surge taxes by £2000. This figure is disputed, as it originates from Tory advisor estimates over a four-year period and applies to households rather than individual persons.
Keir Starmer has repeatedly pledged that he won’t “raise taxes on working people”, indicating no increases in income tax or National Insurance. Rishi Sunak faced criticism for “dishonesty” after asserting in an ITV General Election debate that Keir Starmer would burden UK citizens with £2000 in tax hikes.
During the discussion, the Prime Minister alleged that, “independent Treasury officials have priced Labour’s strategies and they total to a £2000 tax increase for every working family”. However, the Treasury’s lead civil servant refuted this claim the following day.
James Bowler clarified that ministers were told not to present these numbers as formal civil servant computations.
Consequently, Jonathan Ashworth from Labour remarked, “I think last night it became evident how desperate Rishi Sunak has become as he lied about Labour’s tax strategies. His statements last night about Labour’s tax plans were unequivocally false. Labour will not raise income tax, will not increase National Insurance, and will not increase VAT.”
