THERE will be no changes to Council Tax bands under a Labour government, Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said.
Asked if could confirm there would be no changes, he told GB News: “Yes, I can. And let me just say on this, we've made some really specific arguments in our manifesto where we will get more revenue for public services.
“That's all very clear in those plans and we've made that commitment on National Insurance, VAT, Income Tax - the big taxes
“But taxes are at a high level in the UK, they're at a 70-year high, and the truth is there is no level of any tax rise that would give people the public services they want.
“If the economy does not improve, if we have an economy that grows as it has been for the last 14 years, it makes things very difficult.
“You get this doom loop that we've got where taxes are high but public services aren't good. So the big argument in the Labour manifesto are practical things that will make the difference, make the economy grow more strongly, an alternative to the chaos and stagnation of the last 14 years.
“That's got to be what we're talking about or we're going to be in this conversation about decline and stagnation.
“There is a better way, the economy has grown better in the past. People have felt the benefits of that and that's the big argument Labour's making in this election.”
He added: “If the economy had grown in the last 14 years even remotely like it did under the last Labour government, there'll be billions of pounds of money being spent on public services today without any increase in those headline rates of tax.
“So let's not talk about declined stagnation, the chaos we've seen for 14 years. Let's look for something better.
“The practical measures in Labour's manifesto, whether that is economic stability, to not repeat that disgrace of a situation we saw with Liz Truss, whether it is having an industrial strategy, or reforming planning so we're building homes, changes to the apprenticeship levy so more money is going into skills and training.
“These are the practical things that make a difference.”
