Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for comparing the Tories’ manifesto to that of Jeremy Corbyn, with former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke pointing out that the Labour leader backed two manifestos from his predecessor.
Meanwhile, left-wing campaign group Momentum urged Starmer to stop “attacking [his] own side during an election”.
This came after the Labour leader accused the Conservatives of putting forward a “Jeremy Corbyn-style manifesto” full of uncosted promises.
Asked about Tory claims a Labour government would hike taxes during a campaign visit to the Whale Hill Primary School in Middlesbrough, the Labour leader told broadcasters: “We have been absolutely clear that all our plans are fully costed and funded.
Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for comparing the Tories’ manifesto to that of Jeremy Corbyn
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“We will not be increasing income tax, national insurance or VAT, so no tax increases for working people. None of our plans require tax rises.
“But this is coming from the party that put tax to the highest level for 70 years and they’re building this sort of Jeremy Corbyn-style manifesto where anything you want can go in it. None of it is costed. It’s a recipe for more of the same.
“That’s why this choice of turn our back on this, turn the page and rebuild with Labour is so important.”
But hitting back, Clarke said: “This from the guy who backed two actual Corbyn manifestos. The sheer nerve is unbelievable.”
Momentum added: “Labour’s 2019 manifesto was fully costed. Keir should know, he stood on it as a member of the shadow cabinet.
“How about stopping attacking your own side during an election [Keir]?”
Sunak unveiled the Conservatives’ General Election manifesto today in Silverstone.
He vowed to halve net migration to the UK – but the target will still be higher than in 2019 when the party admitted migration was too high.
Speaking at Silverstone, the Prime Minister said: “Labour have no answer to this question. We saw the other week Keir Starmer simply can’t tell you what he would do with people who come here illegally because he doesn’t believe it’s a problem.
Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke pointed out that the Labour leader backed two manifestos from his predecessor.
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“Now, with Brexit we took control of our borders, but migration has been too high in recent years and we have a clear plan to reduce it.
“Last year we announced changes which means 300,000 people who were previously eligible to come here now can’t and we will introduce a migration cap that means parliament, your elected representatives, will vote on how many people should be able to come here every year.
“Our plan is this: we will halve migration as we have halved inflation, and then reduce it every single year.”
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Left-wing campaign group Momentum urged Starmer to stop ‘attacking [his] own side during an election’
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But Sunak’s pledge to cut net migration by half takes the annual figure to around 340,000 people. This is higher than in 2019, when it was around 184,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The Tory manifesto launch saw the PM also pledge to “scrap entirely the main rate of self-employed national insurance” in the next parliament to encourage enterprise. He also pledged to halve national insurance overall by 2027.
The manifesto also included plans to deliver 1.6 million new homes if elected by speeding up planning on brownfield land in inner cities and “scrapping defective EU laws”.