PMQs: Kemi Badenoch should apologise for £40bn of Conservative stealth tax hikes

EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Liberal Democrats have blasted Kemi Badenoch’s hypocrisy on stealth taxes at PMQs, highlighting the £40bn stealth tax bombshell the Conservatives hit the public with during their time in office.

Between the stealth tax being announced in 2021 by the Conservatives, and the 2024-25 financial year at the end of the last Parliament, frozen income tax thresholds hit households with £38.7bn in total, according to figures from the OBR.

The Conservative freeze on income tax thresholds has meant that, by the end of the last Parliament, basic rate taxpayers had paid an additional £950 in total due to the freeze on the Personal Allowance, while higher rate taxpayers were hit with nearly £4,800, according to Liberal Democrat analysis of figures from the OBR.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

"Kemi Badenoch should apologise for the years of stealth taxes put in place by the Conservatives if she wants to be taken seriously by the public.

"The Conservative government she loyally served hammered families with years of unfair tax hikes.

"Both Labour and the Conservatives seem intent on punishing the public with endless tax hikes, instead of turbocharging our economy with a closer trade deal with the EU."

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

OBR figures and Liberal Democrat analysis can be found here.