SAVING HIMSELF
Starmer performs ANOTHER flip flop as he goes back on statement about working people
The Labour leader had yesterday defined 'working people' as those who do not have savings
WORKING people can have savings, Sir Keir Starmer declared today in his latest 24-hour flip-flop.
At a campaign event in Swindon, the Labour chief rowed back his claim that the working man has no money in the bank.
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Labour has vowed not to hike income tax, national insurance and VAT on “working people”.
Sir Keir’s original definition of the group, given on Tuesday, was: "People who earn their living, rely on our [public] services and don't really have the ability to write a cheque when they get into trouble."
The comments on LBC sparked fears that the two-thirds of Brits who do have some quid in the bank could be hit by hefty hikes as Labour would not classify them as "working people".
But today the Labour chief clarified: “Of course people have savings.
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“If you're a working person, you have savings.
“You've worked hard, you've saved hard, you've put that money aside probably for a holiday, for a birthday, perhaps to get a new car, to possibly put down as a deposit on a house or your children's house.”
He added: “Of course, people with savings are included in our definition of working people.”
Last night the Tories accused Sir Keir of having “let slip” his “true plans” to unleash a tidal wave of tax hikes.
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Under pressure, Starmer has finally made it clear that Labour would raise taxes on millions of hardworking people who they don’t deem to meet their narrow and misguided definition of ‘working’”.
Sir Keir hit back: “This attack is just - I can't believe how they so misunderstand how people save and how valuable those savings are for people.
“Nobody wants to use their savings to pay the bills of the day because the government's lost control of the economy.
“So I'm afraid that's an attack which has backfired spectacularly in terms of showing just how out of touch they are.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s biggest U-turns
By MARTINA BET, Political Correspondent
SIR Keir Starmer has become known as a major flip-flopper since he became leader of the Labour Party.
Here The Sun takes a look at some of his most blatant U-turns.
BREXIT
Sir Keir spent the entire 2017 parliament trying to reverse Brexit.
When he ran as Labour leader in 2020, Sir Keir did not repeat his call for a second referendum on Brexit, but he did endorse freedom of movement. After becoming leader, he said he would not cross the red line of accepting freedom of movement for EU citizens under any future negotiation of post-Brexit trading arrangements with Brussels. He has however pledged a closer trading relationship with Brussels.
NATIONALISATION
When he ran for the Labour leadership, Sir Keir vowed to bring public services, including rail, mail, energy and water, into “common ownership".
But the pledge didn't last long. As early as September 2021, he ruled out nationalising the six big energy companies and in July 2022, shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves ditched the commitment to nationalise more public services in one fell swoop.
The party still intends to bring train operators into public ownership but only when current franchises expire.
OUTSOURCING
One of Sir Keir's other leadership pledges included putting an end the involvement of the private sector in the NHS. Again, it didn't last long as it was dropped in the summer of 2022, with Sir Keir saying the party would have to continue with some level or private provision in the health service.
TUITION FEES
Sir Keir promised he would end the "national scandal" of student debt by abolishing tuition fees in 2020.
Changing his stance, he said the country found itself in a “different financial situation”.
GREEN PROSPERITY PLAN
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to invest £28 billion a year on green projects when she addressed the first in-person conference under Sir Keir back in 2021.
But in one of the most screeching U-turns, Labour announced in February it would spend just over £4.7bn a year.
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