LABOUR has scrubbed its flagship £28billion green spending pledge from its “campaign bible” after struggling to make the sums stack up.
The party failed to mention the contentious figure in a new election memo to MPs despite claiming the massive green splurge is “fully funded”.
PAKeir Starmer has faced questions over his £28billion green spending[/caption]
Tory Treasury Ministers last night accused Sir Keir Starmer of plotting tax rises to pay for his eco plan.
One of Labour’s central promises is to “switch on Great British Energy” with a raft of investment into clean power sources.
It includes more than doubling the nation’s onshore wind capacity, tripling solar output and creating a brand new publicly-owned energy company.
But in the 24-page brochure sent out to Labour MPs yesterday to “gear up” for the election year there were scant details about how the plan would be funded.
READ MORE ON POLITICS
It was in stark comparison to some of the other pledges such as rinsing non-doms to pay for the NHS and whacking VAT on private schools for education spending.
And it totally omitted the £28billion annual spending figure, which Labour has already downgraded to kick in by the second half of a first term.
Tory chief secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott blasted: “Keir Starmer’s spending spree that Labour themselves say costs £28billion every year is now officially unfunded.
He can’t say how he would pay for it because he has got no plan – that will mean thousands of pounds in higher taxes for working people”.
Most read in The Sun
Labour officials said the pledge would be met by a combination of borrowing, private investment and existing government money.
A party spokesperson added: “Labour is the Party of fiscal discipline. All our policies are fully funded, in line with our fiscal rules and don’t involve any tax rises on working people.
“If the Tories spent more time managing the economy than obsessing over our policies they may go some way to fixing the low growth, high tax doom loop they’ve created over 14 years.”
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves is rubbing shoulders with the global elite in Davos to burnish her pro-business credentials.
She will tell finance chiefs ‘Labour means business’ as she convenes senior finance figures together to discuss her plans to “make, do and sell” more in Britain.
The trip will be her second visit in a row to the World Economic Forum after heading there with party leader Sir Keir last year.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron will make the trip along with the Chancellor who is also set to attend as Westminster decamps to Switzerland.
A Labour source close to the Shadow Chancellor said: “Rachel’s message to Davos will be simple: Labour means business.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
