Theresa May rules out ANY hikes to VAT – but hints she may not offer the same assurance not to raise National Insurance or income tax
THERESA MAY has ruled out any VAT rises if she wins the election on June 8 - but refused to offer the same guarantees for National Insurance or income tax.
The Prime Minister told ITV's Peston on Sunday that she wouldn't hike Value Added Tax which is added on to goods and services.
Labour has also said they would not rise VAT either
But the Prime Minister refused to say she would not raise income tax or National Insurance in the next Parliament - if she wins the snap election.
David Cameron promised not to raise any of them when he was elected in 2015.
She did say that there were "no plans" to raise any taxes.
Earlier this year the Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced into an embarrassing u-turn when he tried to raise National Insurance on the self-employed.
Despite repeated questioning today - the Prime Minister would not commit to keeping the triple lock on pensions either.
This 'lock' promises they will go up by at least 2.5 per cent, the rate of inflation or in line with wages (whichever is highest).
She insisted that under a Conservative government "the state pension will still go up every year" but said that "exactly how we calculate that will be in the manifesto".
This is the strongest hint yet that the Tories will throw out the promise they made in 2015 - because it is so expensive to maintain.
Mrs May also hinted that the Tory manifesto would include plans to tackle the growing problem of social care.
"We need to have a sustainable solution," she insisted, to address the "impact of our ageing population."
Labour have promised they would KEEP the triple lock on pensions.
But one of the architects of the policy - Steve Webb - has proposed that the Government only keep it for those who retire before April 2016, and after that have pensions increases linked to earnings.
That would save almost £3billion per year by 2028, a recent report said.
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Today she also hit out at EU leaders who insist she is "in another galaxy" over Brexit talks - and fought back against their demands to secure a divorce bill BEFORE we start talking trade.
In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, the PM said her "strong and stable leadership" would take Britain through the talks to get a good deal.
The Sunday Times reported that meetings with EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker went "very badly" earlier this week. They said: "She is living in a different galaxy. Based on the meeting, no deal is much more likely than finding agreement."
But Mrs May insisted today: "I am not living in a different galaxy.
"I think what this shows is that there are going to be times when these negotiations are going to be tough. That's why you need strong and stable leadership... to get the best deal."
And she told Peston that she was confident she could get a comprehensive free trade agreement WITHIN the two year time limit for talks.
She said: "We are not a third party - we are still part of the EU. We are starting from an entirely different point. It will be easier, it should be easier. We can do that within the time frame we've got."
The PM also repeated comments that she did NOT want to do a head-to-head debate with Jeremy Corbyn.
Mrs May said she wasn't going to change her mind by taking part in TV debates.