Starmer will help himself to your wallet, Hunt warns as he promises more tax cuts

Sir Keir Starmer was branded a pickpocket helping himself to every family's wallet to plug a £38 billion black hole, the Chancellor warned.

The Labour leader is accused of "taking the public for fools" with unfunded spending pledges the equivalent of £2,094 for each working household.  

The intervention came from Jeremy Hunt as he unveiled a major attack claiming Labour will raise taxes if they win the election.

The Tories released a 19-page dossier detailing the opposition's spending commitments claiming there will be a £10 billion a year black hole.

The party also launched a social media blitz that points to both parties fighting for the crown of who is best to run the economy.

Mr Hunt's came just 24 hours after Sir Keir Starmer put economic stability at the heart of his six pledges to offer voters on the doorstep.

He said the party would have to raise taxes by as much as £10 billion per year.

Mr Hunt said: "Keir Starmer’s first step will not be the motherhood and apple pie we heard yesterday, but to help himself to you and your family’s wallets."

He said:  "Labour makes a different choice. For them higher tax is a means to a progressive end and today we produce the evidence that taxes would go up under a future Labour government."

But Mr Hunt declined to give a cast-iron guarantee that taxes would come down over the next five years if the Tories are re-elected.

He said:  "If you're saying can I look into a crystal ball and predict what is going to happen in the world in the next five or 10 years, and therefore give you a cast-iron guarantee of when we will be able to reduce the tax burden and to what level, the answer is of course I can't, and it would be irresponsible to do so."

But he did signal his desire to push forward with further tax cuts in the Autumn signalling there could be a financial statement

He added:  "If we can afford to go further responsibly to reduce the double tax on work this autumn that is what I will do."

Jeremy Hunt also accused Labour of lying over their claims that scrapping national insurance would put the state pension at risk. 

The Chancellor insists his party had been "generous" to pensioners. 

He says it's an "absolute disgrace" Labour saying the move would create a £46 billion spending gap.

But Labour hit back at Mr Hunt's central London speech unveiling the attack branding their analysis from a "dodgy dossier".

A Labour spokesman said:    "This is another desperate attempt by the Tories to deflect from their £46 billion unfunded tax plan that could lead to higher borrowing, higher taxes on pensioners or the end of the state pension as we know it.

"All of Labour's policies are fully costed and fully funded. Unlike the Conservatives, who crashed the economy, Labour will never play fast and loose with the public finances.

"Jeremy Hunt would be better spent getting Rishi Sunak to confirm the date of the election, rather than putting out any more of these dodgy dossiers."