ax levels for working people would be as “low” as possible under Labour, Sir Keir Starmer has indicated.
The comments came in an interview with the Daily Mirror, as the Labour leader was asked if he wanted to cut taxes for those on the lowest incomes.
He said: “I want to keep the burden on working people as low as we can.”
Labour remains ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, with the party increasingly confident of gaining power at the next general election.
I think we need to show, as Keir is, that we are a government in waiting with clarity about what’s needed to rebuild our economy, to rebuild our public services and to give Britain its confidence back
In a speech over the weekend, Sir Keir claimed his project of reforming the party in the aftermath of the Corbyn era is an “on steroids” version of Sir Tony Blair’s symbolic rewriting of Clause Four.
But the Labour leader and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves have been clear about the scale of the challenge Labour will face if it wins the next general election, as well as the limitations of current economic circumstances.
Sir Keir told the paper his party would be likely to “inherit a very difficult set of circumstances” if it enters government.
He said: “That makes it all the more important that we hit the ground running and restore the sense of hope that has been lost.”
Sir Keir said: “People cannot afford a day, a week or a month more of this, they certainly can’t afford for Rishi Sunak to cling on to power for as long as he cares to do so.
“They need change and the sooner we can be in a position to provide that change the better.
“The longer they’re in office, the worse damage they will do.”
Asked about the reference to Sir Tony’s momentous 1995 decision, the party’s shadow small business minister Seema Malhotra told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “I think we need to show, as Keir is, that we are a government in waiting with clarity about what’s needed to rebuild our economy, to rebuild our public services and to give Britain its confidence back.”
