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Penny Mordaunt was forced to concede the Conservatives had overseen record tax rises in government, in a scrappy televised debate that saw her clash with Labour’s Angela Rayner.
Mordaunt, the Tory leader of the outgoing House of Commons and a possible future leadership contender, made the admission during a seven-party debate broadcast by the BBC on Friday as she responded to Rayner’s claim that the Conservatives had “raised taxes to a record level”.
“Yes we have and we have hated putting taxes up, [but] we have been cutting taxes and will continue doing so,” Mordaunt said.
The tax burden had been relatively level at about a third of national income between 2010 and 2019, but has since risen by 3 per cent of GDP, a record increase across a single parliament, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank.
Mordaunt earlier repeated her party’s disputed claim that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000. “Angela Rayner’s party — Keir Starmer confirmed this earlier this week — they are going to put up your taxes by £2,000 per working household,” she said.
“That is a lie,” Rayner responded.
Mordaunt said she was “sticking by the figure” after she was challenged by Mishal Husain, the debate’s moderator, who said that it had been contested and that the Treasury’s permanent secretary had warned it went beyond figures provided by civil servants.
The Tory minister’s concession on tax rises came in heated exchanges where she started on the back foot after Tory leader Rishi Sunak had earlier in the day had to apologise for abandoning D-Day commemoration events in Normandy to return to the campaign trail.
“What happened was completely wrong and the prime minister has rightly apologised to veterans, but also to all of us because he was representing all of us,” she said.
The debate was largely an opportunity for third parties to gain a head of steam in a contest that has thus far focused on the two major contenders in the race for Downing Street.
Political figures from across the spectrum responded to audience questions on crime, immigration, net zero climate policies and the health service.
Stephen Flynn, the Westminster leader of the Scottish National party, won the first plaudits of the evening from members of the public in the studio after he set out his arguments in support of migration and warned voters against supporting parties that demonised immigrants.
“Migration is absolutely essential to our public services, it’s absolutely essential to our businesses and it’s absolutely essential to our economic growth,” he said, calling on voters to “stand up” against hostile rhetoric emanating from some politicians.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, contested Flynn’s remarks, stating that most immigrants were not “productive members of the economy” but dependants.
The arch-Brexiter’s return to the political stage came with a familiar brand of disruptive antics.
He shouted over his fellow participants on several occasions, interjecting with cries of “subsidy” as Green party co-leader Carla Denyer discussed the net zero transition, and waved his arms in the air when accused of “bigotry” by Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap lorwerth.
“Open the doors. Let everyone come. Benefits for everybody,” exclaimed Farage.
Several candidates closed the debate by telling voters the outcome of the election was a foregone conclusion in Labour’s favour, in an effort to encourage wavering voters to swing behind them instead.
Farage said the question on polling day was “who forms the opposition” as he encouraged voters to join a “revolt”. Ap lorwerth said that the Tories were “finished — and that can’t come quickly enough”, but that the election was also a chance to send Labour a message in government.
The Green party’s Denyer said she agreed with Starmer’s pitch to voters that he had changed the Labour party. “He’s right . . . he’s changed them into the Conservatives. Frankly, our children deserve better.” she said.