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Election campaign day 24: Starmer responds to ‘desperate’ Tory tax attacks

Posted on by Vaseline

Sir Keir Starmer was on his way to the election campaign while Rishi Sunak watched Trooping the Color before heading to a summit in Switzerland.

Sir Keir Starmer has hit out at the Tories for denying claims that Labor was planning a secret tax attack on families across the country.

These are the most important moments of day 24 of the election campaign:

– Starmer believes that making a profit is taxing

Sir Keir Starmer used ‘desperate’ Tory tactics when he was forced to publicly rule out the imposition of capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of family homes.

The Conservatives claimed Labor is plotting a series of tax raids, including making the sale of a main home liable to CGT for the first time.

But Sir Keir said during a campaign visit to a hospital in Worksop that it was “never policy so it doesn’t need to be ruled out, but let’s rule it out in case anyone pretends it was”.

Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner also stressed the importance of economic growth to funding her party’s plans, telling reporters during a visit to West Lothian: “We cannot tax our way out of this problem, the Tories have shown us which high taxes and unfunded commitments to our economy, working people have paid the price.”

– The waiting game

Sir Keir was forced to defend Labour’s claim that NHS waiting lists could reach 10 million if the Tories win another term.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said it is “highly unlikely” this will happen.

But Sir Keir defended this claim: “What we have said is that if the list increased at the same rate as it has since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, we would – if we had five more years of Tories – 10 million on that waiting list.”

A Tory spokesman accused Labor of “scaremongering because they don’t have a plan”.

– Mercer issues new Tory warning to prospective UK voters

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Veterans Affairs Secretary Johnny Mercer (right) at a question and answer event in North West LondonPrime Minister Rishi Sunak and Veterans Affairs Secretary Johnny Mercer (right) at a question and answer event in North West London
Johnny Mercer and Rishi Sunak laugh together (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has become the latest senior Tory to warn future voters in the UK that they could ultimately hand Sir Keir “unchecked” power in a landslide victory.

He told Times Radio: “If you vote for Reform you get a Labor government, you get unchecked power from a Labor government to come in and change the face of this country to something that I don’t believe. It is, I don’t think it’s a left-wing country.”

He acknowledged that his seat, which has an imaginary majority of 13,262 if the 2019 battle were fought within the current borders, was in danger.

He said the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) “should be worried about me, it’s very difficult out there and the polls are very much against us”.

Mr Mercer insisted the door-to-door campaign was “great fun” but “it’s only when you get home and see the media and all the rest that morale plummets”.

– Photo of the day

Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner and Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar at the Broxburn Family and Community Development Center in LivingstonDeputy Labor leader Angela Rayner and Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar at the Broxburn Family and Community Development Center in Livingston
Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner and Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar at the Broxburn Family and Community Development Center in Livingston (Andy Buchanan/PA)

– Sunak moves on

Rishi Sunak’s responsibilities as Prime Minister have once again kept him off the campaign trail.

He attended the Trooping the Color ceremony to celebrate the king’s official birthday and then flew to Switzerland for a major international summit on Ukraine.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty during the Trooping the Color ceremonyPrime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty during the Trooping the Color ceremony
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty at the Trooping the Color ceremony (Yui Mok/PA)

Sunak’s absence from Saturday’s campaign follows the Thursday and Friday he spent in Italy at the G7 summit.

– Farage hits the bruise

Nigel Farage could not resist highlighting Tory divisions over how to respond to the threat of reforming Britain.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron used an interview in the Times to hit out at the reform leader for wanting to ‘destroy’ the Conservatives.

But former home secretary Suella Braverman – a potential successor to Sunak if the Tories are defeated and she retains her seat – used a Telegraph interview to say: “We shouldn’t have this split on the right”.

Farage said the differing views within Tory ranks “summed them up”.

– SNP highlights Brexit nightmare for Scottish food and drink

Scottish Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said SNP MPs would protect Scotland’s food industries such as salmon producers.

She said neither the Tories nor Labor were “willing or willing to undo the damage Brexit has caused”.

She visited DFDS Logistics in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire, the largest transport company for Scotland’s salmon and seafood industry, to highlight the ‘trading nightmare’ caused by Brexit.

Ms Forbes said: “Since the moment we left the European Union, from staff shortages to dodgy international trade deals, Brexit has meant nothing but disaster for the food and drink industries across Scotland, who have paid a hard price for a Brexit which we have not paid. vote for.”

– At least he could probably throw a party at a brewery….

Chris French behind the bar at The Miter in RichmondChris French behind the bar at The Miter in Richmond
Chris French behind the bar at The Miter (Chris French/PA)

Landlord Chris French has registered his cafe as a political party to stand as a candidate in the general election.

The owner of The Miter pub in Richmond, south-west London, said it was a chance to “get free advertising on 77,000 ballot papers” in the Richmond Park seat.

And his pitch to his potential voters? “I’d rather they come down and spend some money in the pub than vote for me, to be honest.”

– Social media moment

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage was stopped by a group of musicians who asked the party’s leader to follow them on social media.

“Do you think we can get a video of you shouting out our band?” asks one of the young lads, as Mr Farage replied: “I don’t know if you’re any good though, do you?”

The band, known as The Sun Rays, then shows a video of their music to Mr Farage, prompting one of the band members to say: “Is that good enough to win your approval and follow us? Personally, I think so.”

Farage replied: ‘You’re stubborn, aren’t you? That’s a good quality. That way you can go a long way in life,” before agreeing to follow them on social media and make a video with the band in which he describes them as “young, full of enthusiasm and optimistic.”

– What happens tomorrow?

The weekly battle for airwaves on Sunday morning will see transport secretary Mark Harper and shadow health minister Wes Streeting called into action.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay will also be one of the guests on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

On BBC Sunday, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth will join the Tory and Labor frontbenchers with Laura Kuenssberg.