Health Secretary publicly declares that he is opposed to breaking Labour’s manifesto pledges.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting (Image: LBC)
Wes Streeting has welcomed Rachel Reeves‘s apparent U-turn on plans to hike income tax at the Budget. The Chancellor had been expected to break Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax as she scrambles to fill a black hole in the public finances.
But Ms Reeves has reportedly abandoned the move due to fears of a backlash from Labour backbenchers and voters. It also comes as there are questions over Sir Keir Starmer‘s leadership amid a cloak-and-dagger briefing war about Mr Streeting’s leadership ambitions that appeared to backfire on the Prime Minister.
Mr Streeting told LBC Radio: “I’m not in favour of breaking manifesto pledges.
“I think that trust in politics and politicians is low and it’s part of our responsibility to not only rebuild our economy and rebuild our public services, but to rebuild trust in politics itself.”
He added: “The fact that the Chancellor – and we’re going on speculation here – but the fact that the Chancellor was reported as even considering breaking manifesto commitments tells you two things: Firstly, the public finances are under real pressure, and secondly she is fundamentally, unequivocally, committed to her fiscal rules and so therefore she’s got some invidious choices to make, and she’s weighing those up.
“I’ve not spoken to the Chancellor overnight. I’ve seen the reports this morning that she’s no longer planning to increase income tax.
“I think what the news overnight has shown is that people speculate on the Budget but ultimately you don’t know what’s in it until the day it’s delivered, and that includes the Cabinet, by the way. So we will all have to wait and see.”
According to the Financial Times, Ms Reeves told budget watchdog about her decision not to raise income tax on Wednesday when she submitted a list of “major measures” to be included in her November 26 statement.
The tax rise would break Labour’s election manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance, or VAT.
One option being looked at instead is said to be reducing income tax thresholds while keeping tax rates the same, which could raise billions of pounds for the Treasury.
Speculation over the U-turn has prompted Government borrowing costs to jump this morning.
