Ever caught a politician squirming live on TV, dodging a promise that could cost you thousands? 😤 That’s exactly what happened when Tory firebrand Kemi Badenoch nailed Keir Starmer with ONE brutal question on tax hikes—leaving the PM utterly speechless and sparking a Budget betrayal storm. Is your wallet next on Labour’s chopping block?

The evasion that’s got Britain boiling—tap to see the full PMQs takedown and what it means for YOUR taxes. 👉

Sir Keir Starmer today repeatedly refused to rule out breaking Labour‘s manifesto pledge by overseeing a Budget tax raid on workers.

The Prime Minister failed to commit to keeping his pre-election vow to not increase National Insurance, income tax or VAT.

Asked by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch whether he stood by his promise, Sir Keir would only say: ‘The Budget is on November 26 and we will lay out our plans.’

The PM’s dodging over Labour’s tax promise will further fuel fears of a looming tax raid on Britons next month.

He also sidestepped questions on whether Labour would extend a freeze on income tax personal allowances, which have been dubbed a ‘stealth tax’.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is currently scrambling to plug a multi-billion-pound gap in her spending plans ahead of her next fiscal package.

Some economists have warned she faces a black hole of up to £50billion – to be filled by tax rises and spending cuts – in the public finances.

A potential increase in the basic rate of income tax by a penny – from 20p to 21p in the pound, which would bring in around £8billion – is reported to be part of Treasury discussions ahead of the Budget.

Ms Reeves is also said to be considering a more drastic move to put 2 pence on the basic rate of income tax, which would raise about £20billion a year.

The last rise in the basic rate of income tax was more than 50 years ago in 1975.

There is speculation about a slew of other possible tax changes, including a ‘mansion tax’, as the Chancellor looks to balance the books.

During Prime Minister’s Questions this afternoon, Mrs Badenoch repeatedly pressed Sir Keir over the prospect of more Labour tax rises in November.

She noted how, when she had previously asked the PM whether he stood by his party’s manifesto pledge on taxes in July, Sir Keir had simply replied: ‘Yes.’

The pound fell sharply on Wednesday amid worries over the UK’s bleak fiscal outlook.

Sterling tumbled to a two-and-a-half-year low against the euro and a three-month low versus the US dollar, down 0.4 per cent at 1.13 euros and 0.4 per cent lower at 1.32 dollars. It followed steep falls on Tuesday.

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Sir Keir Starmer today repeatedly refused to rule out breaching Labour’s manifesto pledge by overseeing a Budget tax raid on workers

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Asked by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch whether he stood by his promise, Sir Keir would only say: ‘The Budget is on the 26 November and we will lay out our plans.’

Analysis by the Mail shows that adding a penny to the basic rate of income tax, without altering the thresholds, would see someone aged 21 or over on the national minimum wage of £23,809 paying an extra £112 a year, based on a 37.5-hour working week.

Someone on a salary of £40,000 would pay an extra £274.30 to HMRC.

As she quizzed Sir Keir in the House of Commons, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘Last year, in its manifesto, Labour promised not to increase income tax, not to increase national insurance and not to increase VAT.

‘Does the Prime Minister still stand by his promises?’

Sir Keir replied: ‘I’m glad that the Leader of the Opposition is now finally talking about the economy.

‘I can update the House: retail sales are higher than expected, inflation is lower than expected, growth has been upgraded this year, and the UK stock market is at an all time high.

‘The Budget is on November 26, and we will lay out our plans, but I can tell the House now that we will build a stronger economy, we will cut NHS waiting lists and deliver a better future for our country.’

Mrs Badenoch responded: ‘Well, well, well, what a fascinating answer. It is not the same answer that I received when I asked exactly the same question word for word on July 9?

‘Then, the Prime Minister replied with just one word, ‘yes’, and then he sat down with a smug grin on his face. What’s changed in the past four months?’

Sir Keir said: ‘As she well knows, no prime minister or chancellor will ever set out their plans in advance.

‘I can say this, because the figures on the productivity review that’s being undertaken, this is a judgment on their record in office.

‘Those figures are now coming through, and they confirm that the Tories did even more damage to the economy than we previously thought.

‘Now, we will turn that around. We’ve already delivered the fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of this year, five interest rate cuts in a row, trade deals with the US, EU and India. They broke the economy, we’re fixing it.’

Mrs Badenoch said Labour had blown its economic inheritance from the previous Tory government, as she suggested cuts to welfare spending as an alternative to tax rises.

She claimed Sir Keir ‘knows nothing about economic growth, except how to destroy it’.

The PM replied: ‘She’s overlooked the fact that we had the highest growth in the G7 in the first six months of this year, and that growth has just been upgraded.’

In a fiery clash, Mrs Badenoch added that all Sir Keir knows how to do is ‘tax, tax, tax’.

The Tory leader told MPs: ‘He is raising taxes because he is too weak to control spending. He’s blaming us. He’s blaming the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility).

‘Last week, they were blaming Brexit. Isn’t the truth that with this Prime Minister, it’s always someone else’s fault?’

In his response, Sir Keir said of the Tories: ‘They were kicked out of office because they broke the economy. They won’t be trusted for years to come.’

Later in PMQs, Tory MP Mike Wood asked the PM if he could guarantee there would be no extension to the freeze on income tax personal allowances.

But Sir Keir dodged the question, replying: ‘The freeze was introduced by them (the Conservatives), that’s why it’s coming in next year.’

Freezing tax thresholds have been dubbed a ‘stealth’ raid as they drag people into higher-income tax brackets as their earnings rise.

Tax thresholds, including the £12,570 tax-free personal allowance, have been frozen from April 2021 until April 2028.

But the Fabian Society, a Labour-linked think tank, recently urged Ms Reeves to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds for another two years to raise £12billion at the Budget.

It has previously been estimated that millions of pensioners will be dragged into paying income tax due to the ongoing personal allowance freeze.

After PMQs, Sir Keir’s press secretary declined to say the Labour manifesto still ‘stands’ on not raising VAT, income tax or national insurance.

She told reporters: ‘The Budget is on November 26. We’re still waiting for the OBR’s final forecasts and we’re not going to pre-empt the Budget.’

Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper – the party’s Treasury spokesperson – said: ‘People up and down the country will be incredibly worried by what looks like yet another U-turn from this Government.

‘Families should not be expected to fill the black hole that’s been blown in our economy by the Conservatives’ nightmare Brexit deal and the current Government’s failure to turn things around.

‘Many households will now be tightening their belts even further fearing more tax hikes to come in the weeks ahead.’

The Commons exchanges came after Ms Reeves used a newspaper article to insist Britain can ‘defy’ grim economic forecasts.

Writing for the Guardian, Ms Reeves appeared to acknowledge her task will be made even harder by a larger-than-expected downgrade to productivity forecasts.

She pointed to reports that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog is preparing to downgrade its productivity forecasts by 0.3 percentage points.

It is estimated this will leave a gap in the public finances of more than £20billion, with ex-Tory chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt describing it as a ‘hammer blow’ to Labour’s plans.

Ms Reeves piled the blame on Brexit, austerity and the Covid crisis for leaving ‘deep scars’ on the British economy.

She also paved the way for another huge tax raid as she warned of ‘necessary choices’ and vowed to ‘take the long-term decisions that are in the best interests of our country’.

‘These decisions – and the decisions I take at the Budget – don’t come for free and they are not easy,’ the Chancellor added.

There is growing speculation that Ms Reeves could break Labour’s manifesto pledges and raise income tax next month, while the Treasury is also considering proposals for a ‘mansion tax’.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank warned earlier this month that Ms Reeves could need to find £22billion of tax rises or spending cuts.

This would be to restore the £10billion of headroom she left herself against her debt targets in the Spring.

That gap is the result of higher borrowing costs, more persistent inflation and weaker growth, along with having to fund Labour’s U-turns on winter fuel payments and welfare cuts.

But the hole in the public finances could be even bigger than feared, amid expectations the OBR will make a larger-than-expected cut to its trend productivity forecast.

The IFS has said a 0.1 percentage point downgrade to the productivity forecast would increase public sector net borrowing by £7billion in 2029-30.

This means a 0.3 percentage point cut could create a £21billion hit for Ms Reeves.

Other economists have warned the Chancellor faces a black hole of up to £50billion – to be filled by tax rises and spending cuts – ahead of her Budget.

In her newspaper article, Ms Reeves said she would not ‘pre-empt’ the OBR’s forecasts but admitted the UK’s productivity has been ‘too weak’ since the financial crisis.

‘Austerity, a chaotic Brexit and the pandemic have left deep scars on the British economy that are still being felt today,’ she wrote.

‘But the task facing our country – facing me as Chancellor – is not to relitigate the past or let past mistakes determine our future.

‘I am determined that we don’t simply accept the forecasts but we defy them, as we already have this year.

‘To do so means taking the necessary choices today, including at the Budget next month.’

Ms Reeves pledged to stick to her ‘fiscal rules’ and bring down Britain’s debt, but appeared to rule out deeper spending cuts by saying there would be ‘no return to austerity’.

She said: ‘If productivity is our challenge, then investment is our solution.’

The Chancellor also appeared to rule out increases in borrowing, saying investment ‘cannot come at the cost of economic responsibility’.

Without deeper spending cuts or increased borrowing, Ms Reeves will be left with little choice but to raise taxes.

She added: ‘Alongside investment we will take the long-term decisions that are in the best interests of our country and opposed by our political opponents.

‘From building a closer relationship with the EU and securing new trade deals with our friends and allies to fixing our broken planning system so we can build the homes for the next generation to own.

‘These decisions – and the decisions I will take at the budget – don’t come for free and they are not easy, but they are the right, fair and necessary choices.’

In his own article for The Times, Sir Jeremy said the OBR’s productivity downgrade was a ‘hammer blow to Rachel Reeves’ numbers’.

He called on the Chancellor to turn around Britain’s national productivity by pursuing public sector reform.

Sir Jeremy said this would offer ‘a double bonus’ of ‘better productivity forecasts from the OBR but also a big boost to public finances’.

‘Turning round our creaking public sector is not just essential – it is also possible,’ he added.