Prime minister fails to answer Tory leader’s questions about manifesto pledge not to raise income tax
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Keir Starmer has refused to rule out tax rises in next month’s budget, which would breach Labour’s manifesto promises, boosting speculation that Rachel Reeves is considering raising income tax to reduce a shortfall.
The prime minister pointedly ignored questions posed to him by Kemi Badenoch in the Commons about the manifesto pledge, something the Conservative leader said he had not done when asked before.
The Guardian revealed that Reeves, the chancellor, is in active discussions about potentially raising income taxes as she looks for ways to clear an estimated shortfall of more than £30bn.
