Labour’s “straitjacket” manifesto would make Sir Keir Starmer’s first year in office very difficult, Ed Balls has warned.
Sir Keir has explicitly ruled out any rises in income tax, National Insurance and VAT under a Labour government.
Speaking on his Political Currency podcast, Mr Balls, a former Labour shadow chancellor, said the Labour leader and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, face “huge expectations” while giving themselves “little room for manoeuvre”.
“I think people will look back on this manifesto, which is now seen as cautious and careful, and think of it as being something which was very constraining, and a potentially risky thing to do for Labour because this manifesto is absolutely boxing Labour in,” he said.
“It will be seen as a straitjacket, with tough fiscal rules and limits on borrowing, big commitments not to raise income tax or VAT or national insurance.
”For Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves there are huge expectations, no money, little room for manoeuvre, inherited plans which are very tight, and an economy which isn’t growing. So I think that creates a big set of expectations and that is the consequence of the manifesto strategy. This manifesto makes the first year in government for Labour very difficult.”
The party’s plans to raise taxes by more than £8 billion a year, coupled with the £23.5 billion post-election tax hikes already announced by Jeremy Hunt, would leave households facing a £1,100-a-year tax rise, according to the Resolution Foundation, a Left-wing think tank.
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