Badenoch accuses Chancellor John Healey of plotting £1,700-a-household tax rises to fill a '£49billion black hole'

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 November 2026.

Kemi Badenoch warns that Labour's unfunded spending commitments — including a National Care Service and more council housing — leave a £49billion gap that will force tax rises of £1,700 per household per year by 2030-31. The Tory leader said Prime Minister Burnham "gave the game away" by admitting he would have written Labour's 2024 manifesto differently. Meanwhile the Office for Budget Responsibility warns the Budget's threshold freezes will eliminate 215,000 jobs by 2030.

Healey also handed unions £40million to revive the Union Learning Fund, which shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith called "a political bung to Labour's political allies."

Middle earners face a stealth tax hit of up to £5,000 as frozen income tax thresholds drag more pay into higher bands until April 2031.

Healey hinted in a BBC interview that Labour may delay its manifesto pledge to equalise the minimum wage for under-20s, saying "it's a question of when."