Spectator Slams Rishi Sunak’s ‘Nonsense’ Labour Tax Hike Claim, Report Tory Plans Will Cost Households Even More

Sky News’ Kay Burley observed that the Spectator’s dismantling of Sunak’s tax hike claim is a “watershed moment.” (Screengrab via ITV)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s £2000 Labour tax hike attack line, repeated a dozen times during Tuesday’s ITV election debate, has stuck for all the wrong reasons and in a “watershed moment” leading the charge in dismantling it is the conservative-leaning Spectator magazine.

Despite the fact that the claim surprisingly went unchallenged by Labour leader Keir Starmer in the debate, Conservatives now face a mathematical entanglement that has backfired enormously as Labour accuse Sunak of “lying” and economic journalists dig into the data.

In an article on Wednesday, Spectator journalist Ross Clark found that Conservatives derived their £2,000 figure by estimating the total cost of Labour’s proposed policies, dividing it by the 18.4 million in-work households, and quadruple-counting the annual estimates for the four years. This method, criticised as misleading, excluded pensioners and workless households, inflating the impact.

Following that piece, striking a further statistical blow, editor Fraser Nelson playfully applied the same calculation method used against Labour to cost the Conservatives’ own plans.

Based on data from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Nelson finds that over four years tax increase under the Tories totals £3,020 per working household. Additionally, if this year’s tax take is used as a baseline, the projected tax burden could reach an extra £9,000. Regardless of the method, the core truth remains: while Conservatives criticise Labour for tax increases, their own plans reveal a significant rise in taxes.

The figures are arguably as misleading as the ones touted by the Conservatives against Labour but, again, that is also part of Nelson’s point.

Fraser doesn’t hold back. He wrote: “They are in a big old glass house when it comes to tax rises – yet here they are, still throwing stones. It’s a risky strategy.

He added: “There are serious issues at stake in this general election and the Tories have just released nonsense figures with fake attribution then given them to newspapers, who took it on trust. I’m not sure that this will help their chances.”

Sky News host Kay Burley observed that for the Conservatives, “losing the Spectator is a watershed moment.” She’s not wrong.