Labour shouldn’t squander the chance to fix council tax

In the final election push, the Tories are trying to drag the Labour party into a game of taxation whack-a-mole. The Conservatives seem to think that the threat of tax rises is the one lifeline they have. After bungling their £2,000 per-family line with a row about where the numbers come from, they are now teasing out denials about specific raises from the left. First, it was over Capital Gains Tax, and then council tax, forcing Labour to deny they would re-band, as Welsh Labour have done.

Starmer and his team have batted most of these away. They maintain their plans are in full step with the costed manifesto and there will be no rises or changes except those already telegraphed. This will probably hold them through the campaign, but will box them in once Sir Keir makes it to Number 10 and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is sweating over spreadsheets next door.