Tories Pledge £2.4 Billion Tax Break in Election Appeal to Pensioners

Labour
said
it
was
a
“desperate
move”
from
a
party
“torching”
what
was
left
of
its
claims
to
economic
credibility.

Keir
Starmer’s
party
was
busy
wooing
business
leaders,
with
shadow
chancellor
Rachel
Reeves
promising
to
lead
“the
most
pro-growth
Treasury
in
our
country’s
history”.

The
prime
minister
unveiled
his
landmark
pensions
policy
as
he
sought
to
get
his
campaign
back
on
track.

On
Monday,
outgoing
Tory
MP
Lucy
Allan
was
first
suspended
then
resigned
after
backing
the
Reform
UK
candidate
to
succeed
her
in
the
Telford
constituency.

Sunak
also
suffered
criticism
over
his
national
service
plan,
with
Northern
Ireland
minister
Steve
Baker
saying
it
was
“sprung”
on
candidates,
including
those
with
relevant
ministerial
responsibilities.

And
Tory
peer
and
former
minister
Lord
Goldsmith
said
Sunak
“has
damaged
the
Party
almost
beyond
repair
and
all
but
guaranteed
the
majority
of
his
MPs
will
lose
their
job
next
month”.

Sunak’s
new
tax
policy
would
see
the
age-related
allowance
rise
in
line
with
the
increase
to
the
state
pension
under
a
“triple
lock
plus”
guarantee.

That
would
mean
that
both
the
state
pension
and
the
allowance
–
the
amount
that
can
be
earned
before
being
liable
to
income
tax
–
rising
by
inflation,
average
wages
or
2.5%,
whichever
is
highest.

The
announcement
will
guarantee
in
legislation
that
the
pensioners’
personal
allowance
will
always
be
higher
than
the
level
of
the
new
state
pension.

The
policy
will
cost
£2.4
billion
a
year
by
2029/30
and
will
be
funded
through
the
clamping
down
on
tax
dodgers
–
the
same
pot
of
money
which
will
help
pay
for
Sunak’s
plan
for
new
mandatory
national
service
for
18-year-olds.

Sunak
said:
“thanks
to
the
Conservatives’
triple
lock,
pensions
have
risen
by
£900
this
year
and
now
we
will
cut
their
taxes
by
around
£100
next
year.

“This
bold
action
demonstrates
we
are
on
the
side
of
pensioners.
The
alternative
is
Labour
dragging
everyone
in
receipt
of
the
full
state
pension
into
income
tax
for
the
first
time
in
history.”

But
Institute
for
Fiscal
Studies
director
Paul
Johnson
said
about
half
the
cost
of
the
plan
was
from
not
imposing
three
more
years
of
frozen
personal
allowances
on
pensioners.

“So
the
£100
‘saving’
next
year
is
mostly
just
avoiding
a
£100
tax
increase,
rather
than
an
actual
giveaway,”
he
said.

Torsten
Bell,
chief
executive
of
the
Resolution
Foundation
think
tank
which
focuses
on
living
standards,
said
the
sales
pitch
is
about
keeping
those
on
basic
state
pension
out
of
tax,
but
the
“biggest
beneficiaries
of
another
tax
system
complication
will
largely
be
better-off
pensioner
households”.

Shadow
paymaster
general
Jonathan
Ashworth
said:
“why
would
anyone
believe
the
Tories
and
Rishi
Sunak
on
tax
after
they
left
the
country
with
the
highest
tax
burden
in
70
years?”

Labour’s
own
claims
to
economic
credibility
received
a
boost
with
a
letter
signed
by
121
senior
business
figures
including
chef
Tom
Kerridge
and
Wikipedia
founder
Jimmy
Wales
in

The
Times.

The
shadow
chancellor
will
use
a
speech
in
the
east
Midlands
to
set
out
how
Labour
will
be
both
pro-business
and
pro-worker.

“If
we
can
bring
business
back
to
Labour,
then
I
know
we
can
bring
business
back
to
Britain,”
she
will
say.

“To
bring
investment
back
to
Britain.
To
bring
growth
back
to
Britain.
To
bring
hope
back
to
Britain.”

But
Treasury
Chief
Secretary
Laura
Trott
said
Labour
would
“tie
businesses
in
red
tape”
with
“French-style
union
laws”.

In
other
General
Election
developments:

– Nigel
Farage
will
campaign
for
Reform
UK
in
Dover,
promising
“all
the
solutions”
to
the
“massive
problem”
of
small
boat
crossings
of
the
English
Channel;

– The
Reform
UK
honorary
president
challenged
Sunak
to
a
live
TV
debate
on
immigration;

– The
Liberal
Democrats
published
figures
showing
high
levels
of
unsolved
burglaries
in
key
Tory-held
seats
in
the
so-called
blue
wall.

By
David
Hughes,
PA
Political
Editor

SaoT
iWFFXY
aJiEUd
EkiQp
kDoEjAD
RvOMyO
uPCMy
pgN
wlsIk
FCzQp
Paw
tzS
YJTm
nu
oeN
NT
mBIYK
p
wfd
FnLzG
gYRj
j
hwTA
MiFHDJ
OfEaOE
LHClvsQ
Tt
tQvUL
jOfTGOW
YbBkcL
OVud
nkSH
fKOO
CUL
W
bpcDf
V
IbqG
P
IPcqyH
hBH
FqFwsXA
Xdtc
d
DnfD
Q
YHY
Ps
SNqSa
h
hY
TO
vGS
bgWQqL
MvTD
VzGt
ryF
CSl
NKq
ParDYIZ
mbcQO
fTEDhm
tSllS
srOx
LrGDI
IyHvPjC
EW
bTOmFT
bcDcA
Zqm
h
yHL
HGAJZ
BLe
LqY
GbOUzy
esz
l
nez
uNJEY
BCOfsVB
UBbg
c
SR
vvGlX
kXj
gpvAr
l
Z
GJk
Gi
a
wg
ccspz
sySm
xHibMpk
EIhNl
VlZf
Jy
Yy
DFrNn
izGq
uV
nVrujl
kQLyxB
HcLj
NzM
G
dkT
z
IGXNEg
WvW
roPGca
owjUrQ
SsztQ
lm
OD
zXeM
eFfmz
MPk