The Tory plan to ban tax rises is a “desperate last minute gimmick”, say Labour

Today David Cameron has announced that the Tories would introduce a law guarantee that there would be no rise in income tax rates, VAT or national insurance.

But Labour have pointed out these plans don’t necessarily add up.  Chris Leslie, Shadow Chief Secretary, has said that this is a “desperate last minute gimmick”, explaining:

“David Cameron broke his promise not to raise VAT last time and if he gets the chance he’ll do the same again. 

“That’s because the Tories have made billions of pounds of promises without saying where the money is coming from. And they have extreme plans to double the pace of spending cuts next year which will see them slash tax credits for working families.

“Labour’s policies are fully-funded, which is why our manifesto pledged not to raise VAT, national insurance or the basic and higher rates of income tax. 

“For all David Cameron’s claims, tax and benefit changes under the Tories have left families £1100 worse off since 2010. Working people can’t afford five more years of the Tories.”

What’s more as Jolyon Maugham has noted, this is exactly the kind of false lock that George Osborne lambasted back in 2009: