Nandy insists Government takes promises ‘very seriously’ despite income tax U-turn
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has insisted the Government takes its promises “very, very seriously” despite a probable major manifesto U-turn on income tax.
The Labour Government told the UK’s fiscal watchdog that it would break its manifesto commitment and raise income tax in the upcoming budget late last week.
Ahead of the 2024 election, Labour promised to not raise taxes on ‘working people‘ – which covered a hike to national insurance, income tax or VAT.
Reeves’ proposal is included in the government’s official submission to the OBR, according to The Times, offering the starkest revelation yet that Reeves will fall back on Labour’s manifesto.
Lisa Nandy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme that the Government “take our promises very, very seriously” but warned it would “have to make difficult decisions.”
Asked whether she agreed with Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell that the government should be following through on its manifesto commitment the Culture Secretary said: “I agree with Lucy Powell that promises matter. I also agree with her that the situation that this Government inherited is very challenging.”
Powell has said that the likely 2p increase to income tax would damage “trust in politics” and cause more issues for the Prime Minister and Chancellor.
Nandy said: “Look, we take our promises very, very seriously and we did make specific commitments around tax in the manifesto, but we were also elected on a promise to change this country, and through the record investment that we’ve been able to put into the National Health Service, we’re seeing waiting times coming down and more appointments being made available on a whole range of measures.
“We’re delivering the change that people want to see. We are going to have to make difficult decisions. I’m not going to write the Budget live on air.”