Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to reverse any inheritance tax cuts imposed by the Tories in an exclusive interview with our political editor Beth Rigby.
He told Sky News Labour would aim to reduce the tax burden on working people but refused several opportunities to commit to immediate tax cuts if his party wins power.
“Of course, I want working people to pay less tax, to have less of a burden. But we’ve got to get our economy working. And I think everybody understands that,” he said.
“I can’t emphasize enough that if we do not grow our economy, we don’t get more wealth created in this country than we are taxing an ever reducing pie. I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to allow unfunded tax cuts to be made.”
Asked about inheritance tax cuts, he added: “Look, I don’t think that further tax cuts for those that are very wealthy with nothing for working people is the right way forward.
“So I’d oppose it, it wouldn’t be what we would do, and of course we would change that if we got the opportunity to do so.”
Despite criticising the Tory “stealth tax” of freezing income tax thresholds, he also refused to unfreeze them, meaning more and more Britons could still be pulled into paying income tax in the early years of a Labour government.
Rigby asked him: “So what will you do under a Labour government, would you unfreeze those thresholds? Is it something you’re at least looking at?”
“I’m not going to make promises that I can’t keep,” he replied.
“Everything that we can do to lower the burden will be done, but it has to be fair, and it has to be affordable.”
