, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor, speaking ahead of the Autumn Statement said:
“After thirteen years of economic failure under the
Conservatives, working people are worse off. Prices are still
rising in the shops, energy bills are up and mortgage payments
are higher after the Conservatives crashed the economy.
“The 25 Tory tax rises since 2019 are the clearest sign of
economic failure, with households paying £4,000 more in tax each
year than they did in 2010. The Conservatives have become the
party of high tax because they are the party of low growth.
Nothing the Chancellor says or does in his Autumn Statement can
change their appalling record.
“Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party has changed.
Labour is now the party of fiscal responsibility, we are the
party of business and we are the only party with a plan to make
working people better off.”
Ends.
Notes to editors
The Conservatives are the party of high taxes:
- Tax as a % of GDP in 23-24 is at the highest rate since 1949.
- This means, compared to the overall rate of tax in 2009-10,
taxes are higher by c. £120bn every year, equivalent to over
£4,000 more in tax each year per household.
- This analysis uses data from OBR March 2023 EFO Chart 4.1,
National Account Taxes as a share of GDP, and Nominal GDP for
23-24 from OBR March 2023 EFO Economy Supplementary Tables 1.2.
-
https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR-EFO-March-2023_Web_Accessible.pdf
The Conservatives are the party of low growth:
- Under the Tories, GDP has grown at 1.5% p.a. on average since
2010. But with Labour, between 1997 and 2010, GDP grew at 2% p.a.
on average.
- If the Economy had instead continued to grow at the rate it
did under Labour, it would now be £150bn larger, equivalent to c.
£5,000 per household every year.
- This analysis uses: ONS, Real-time database for GDP in
Chained Volume Measures (ABMI), fromhttps://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/datasets/realtimedatabaseforukgdpabmi
- Figures for the last Labour government shows growth between
Q2 1997 and Q2 2010, and for the Conservative government between
Q2 2010 and Q2 2023.
The Conservatives are the party of low wages:
- Real average weekly earnings (total pay) under the Tories
have gone up by £19 -or 3% - since they came into government in
May 2010.
- When Labour were in power between May 1997 and May 2010 wages
went up by £139 a week - or 27%.
- This analysis uses ONS, AWE (nominal) total pay, whole
economy: MD9M pre 2000; and
KAB9 post 2000
- It also uses ONS CPI data https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/d7bt/mm23
- Nominal earnings figures are in September 2023 prices.
The Conservatives are the party of high prices:
- Latest inflation data showed food prices
up by 10% compared to last year, with a rise of 30% over the
past two years.
- Electricity and gas prices are 40% and 60%
higher respectively than two years ago.
- The average household remortgaging in the second half of this
year faces a £220 a month
hike in repayments.
