Rishi Sunak’s claim that Labour will hike household taxes by £2,000 is being investigated by the UK’s official statistics regulator.
The Prime Minister has come under attack as Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves accused him of lying 12 times during last night’s ITV debate, with shadow Cabinet Office minister Jonathan Ashworth saying he has “exposed himself as no better than Johnson”.
It comes as the Treasury has poured cold water on Mr Sunak’s claim that Labour will put up taxes by £2,000 for every household. In the first televised debate of the general election campaign, the prime minister repeatedly pointed to a £38.5bn black hole in Sir Keir Starmer’s spending plans.
However, Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler wrote to the Labour Party on Monday to dismiss the claim. The figure “includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service and published online by HM Treasury”, he told shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.
But it appears the prime minister is not backing away from the claims. Instead, he doubled down on the accusations and warned voters that Labour would cause a “£2,094 tax hike” if they win.
Breaking: Sunak’s £2,000 Labour tax hike claim investigated by UK statistics regulator
The UK’s official statistics regulator is investigating claims made by the Conservatives about the tax burden families could face if Labour wins the general election.
The Office for Statistics Regulation – which is the independent regulatory of the UK Statistics Authority – is looking into the veracity of the Tory claim that Labour tax rises would amount to just over £2,000 over four years per working household.
The body hasn’t detailed how long the inquiry will take.
Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir Robert Chote has written to leaders urging to use statistics “appropriately and transparently”.
Sir Robert Chote said: “We believe official statistics should serve the public good. This means that when statistics and quantitative claims are used in public debate, they should enhance understanding of the topics being debated and not be used in a way that has the potential to mislead.”
