Rishi Sunak’s ‘£2,000 Labour tax policies’ claim 'misled voters', official stats body suggests

The Conservative Party leader has made the Labour tax claim several times on the general election campaign trail. Here's why the numbers don't add up - at least right now.

Rishi Sunak first made the claim about Labour tax policy during the ITV leaders TV debate (Photo by Jonathan Hordle - ITV via Getty Images)
Rishi Sunak has been wrapped on the knuckles by the UK's official stats watchdog (Photo by Jonathan Hordle - ITV via Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you've been following the general election campaign trail, you will have heard Rishi Sunak make a stark claim about Labour tax rises.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed that a Labour government would raise taxes by more than £2,000 for working households, if it wins the election. He first raised it during the ITV leaders debate on 4 June and also brought it up at the Conservative party manifesto launch on 11 June.

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Henry Sandercock has spent more than eight years as a journalist covering a wide variety of beats. Having studied for an MA in journalism at the University of Kent, he started his career in the garden of England as a reporter for local TV channel KMTV.

Henry then worked at the BBC for three years as a radio producer - mostly on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine, but also on major BBC Radio 4 programmes like The World at One, PM and Broadcasting House. Switching to print media, he covered fresh foods for respected magazine The Grocer for two years.

After moving to NationalWorld.com - a national news site run by the publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post - Henry began reporting on the cost of living crisis, becoming the title’s money editor in early 2023. He covered everything from the energy crisis to scams, and inflation. He also has bylines in MoneyWeek.