‘Mr 24 Tax Rises’ and ‘Sir Softy’ clash at Prime Ministers Questions as Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade personal blows over the state of the economy
- Sir Keir accused the Tories of overseeing a decline in living standards for Brits
- The Prime Minister went on the attack over Labour’s spending plans
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer traded personal blows over the economy today as they sparred in a bad-tempered Prime Minister’s Questions.
Sir Keir branded the PM ‘Mr 24 Tax Rises’ as he accused the Tories of overseeing a decline in living standards accompanied by a cut in people’s take-home pay.
He also cited the words of former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne, who yesterday branded Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss and her team economic ‘vandals’.
It came after Mr Sunak last week labelled the Labour leader ‘Sir Softy’ over his time as the country’s top prosecutor.
Today the PM went on the attack over Labour’s spending plans, accusing the party of ‘always running out of other people’s money’.
Sir Keir branded the PM ‘Mr 24 Tax Rises’ as he accused the Tories of overseeing a decline in living standards accompanied by a cut in people’s take-home pay.
Today the PM went on the attack over Labour’s spending plans, accusing the party of ‘always running out of other people’s money’.
Sir Keir kicked off by challenging the PM over whether the Tories’ handling of the economy makes them ‘vandals’.
The opposition leader said: ‘Yesterday (former chancellor) George Osborne said that the Tory Party’s handling of the economy makes them vandals. He’s right, isn’t he?’
Mr Osborne appeared at the Lords Economic Affairs Committee alongside Ed Balls, who was shadow chancellor when he was in No11.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak replied. ‘I don’t know if he saw the remarks of a former Labour shadow chancellor yesterday, who said our country had faced four once-in-a-century shocks, threats to our economy, and the fact that we have come through it is a triumph.’
But Sir Keir went on: ‘This is Mr 24 tax rises. I’ve never heard anything so out of touch as the answer that he has just given, and it’s not just his refusal to take any responsibility for the damage they’ve done, the crashed economy, the hit to living standards, it’s also he refuses to take the action that’s needed.
‘He could stop the handouts he’s giving to oil and gas giants. He could scrap his beloved non-dom status. He could put that money back in the hands of working people and get the NHS back on its feet, that’s what a Labour government would do, why doesn’t he?’
Rishi Sunak replied: ‘The record is clear, look at it right now. Record numbers of people in work. Inequality now lower, the number of people in poverty lower. Those in low pay, the lowest numbers on record.
‘He talks about this non-dom thing, I think he’s already spent the money that he claims he’d raise on five different things because it’s the same old Labour Party. They’re always running out of other people’s money.’
