Labour's Rachel Reeves vows not to raise national insurance or income tax
Rachel Reeves has vowed not to raise national insurance or income tax in a major election promise.
The Shadow Chancellor said that rather than hike levies on wages, a Labour government would strive to cut them. In an interview with The Mirror, she said: “I would like working people to have more of their own money in their pockets.”
Ms Reeves made the key pledge as she accused Rishi Sunak of attempting to hoodwink voters on tax. A cut in the main rate of national insurance from 12% to 10% will come into effect on Saturday - but it follows less than two years after the PM broke a Tory manifesto promise by hiking the levy to its highest ever level as Chancellor.
“The British people are not fools,” she said. “Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt can say as many times as they like until they’re blue in the face that they're cutting taxes, but taxes are going up for working people - £1,200 on average for an ordinary family. People's bank statements, their mortgage bills, their till receipts don't lie. People are worse off after 14 years of Conservative government and that's why people want an election to help Britain take a different course.”
Keir Starmer promised in an interview with The Mirror in September that he would not raise income tax if he wins the election. Asked if she could make the same commitment on national insurance, Ms Reeves said: “You will not see increases in taxes on working people under a Labour government.”
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Instead, the Shadow Chancellor revealed she wants to look at whether income tax or national insurance could be cut. “My instinct is for taxes on working people to be lower,” she said. “To be able to have sustainable, fair, affordable tax cuts, you've got to grow the economy. And that has been the missing ingredient in the UK. These last 14 years, the economy has basically flatlined.
“And so we've got a comprehensive plan to grow the economy, because if you grow the economy, you can improve living standards, you can get taxes down and also have the money that you need to invest in public services.”
Ms Reeves ruled out imposing extra taxes on unhealthy foods as part of efforts to tackle obesity. “We're in the middle of a cost of living crisis and further increasing the costs at the supermarket till, it's just a no go for me,” she said.
But she said Labour “would look at any serious proposals” put forward by the Government to introduce a tax on vaping. “As a mum, I'm really worried about the epidemic of vaping that we are seeing, we don't know what the long term health consequences are of it,” she added. “We know that these vapes are being marketed at children and young people and that really concerns me about the health of our youngsters.”
Ms Reeves spoke to The Mirror as she campaigned in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, where a by-election will be held to replace former Tory minister Peter Bone, who was removed as the MP over bullying and sexual misconduct claims.
The Labour frontbencher said that rather than a “drip feed” of by-elections caused by Tory sleaze scandals, “what people want is a chance to change the government".She added: "Rishi Sunak bottled it [by not calling a general election]. We say bring it on. The country is saying ‘bring it on’ too."They want a choice and they are sick and tired of the waste, the chaos, the dodgy contracts, the cronyism. And also the increases in taxes and how people are worse off.”
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