Is Labour really plotting a £2,000 tax grab?

Is the Labour party planning a £2,000 tax grab on households? That was Rishi Sunak’s main message last night during the first election debate on ITV – one which he was found by YouGov’s snap poll to have won (just). The Tories will ‘keep cutting taxes’, he said, while Labour will raise them. It took some time for Keir Starmer to hit back at the accusation, and the specific number, which he eventually called ‘absolute garbage’.

Where did the figure come from? And how accurate is it? The document, titled ‘Labour’s tax rises’ was put together by Tory aides, using costings produced by the Treasury.Despite suggestions that civil servants were involved, it has been confirmed by James Bowler, permanent secretary to the Treasury, that they were ‘not involved in the production or presentation’ of the document. The BBC this morning has got hold of a letter addressed to the Labour party from Bowler, which states that Tory ministers were told these calculations ‘should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service’.