Georgia Pearce
Guest Reporter
Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick has branded Chancellor Rachel Reeves a "compulsive liar" following her £40billion tax hike on Britons in Labour's Budget.
Reeves delivered a fresh blow to employers and small businesses in her announcement on Wednesday, confirming that employer National Insurance contributions will increase to 15 per cent from April 2026, as well as a cut to the 75 per cent discount on business rates, which will change to 40 per cent in April 2025.
Speaking on GB News, Jenrick emphasised how Labour has "conned the British public" after promising not to raise taxes before the General Election, claiming that the £40billion hike amounts to "£1,400 as a bill for every household".
The Tory candidate fumed: "I think that Rachel Reeves has been fundamentally dishonest - she's almost a compulsive liar.
"She said that taxes were not going to rise on working people before the General Election. In fact, she said it 30 times. They've just raised £40billion in taxes.
"She said there wasn't going to be more borrowing, borrowing has just massively increased. And then she invented this idea of a black hole in order to make her own political choices."
Citing the "choices" Reeves has made, Jenrick stated: "Choices like giving a well-paid train driver £10,000 a year extra money, whilst at the same time taking away the winter fuel allowances from 10 million poor pensioners.
"These are their choices. Today, working people, business owners, farmers, young people trying to get on the housing ladder, people across our country are waking up to the massive tax rises that Labor's inflicting on them."
Comparing Labour's decisions to how the Conservatives would have handled the Budget, Jenrick claimed that they wouldn't "create an energy company that doesn't produce any energy".
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Jenrick told host Tom Harwood: "They have chosen to spend money on things that we would not do. We wouldn't be giving £8billion to Ed Miliband to create an energy company that doesn't produce any energy.
"It is because of these choices that working people are paying the price today."
When asked by Tom if he agrees with the £25billion increase in NHS investment, Jenrick admitted: "I think the NHS may need more money in the years ahead, but the primary debate about the NHS right now is about reform and driving value for money, and the actual quality of care to patients.
"Over the last five years under our watch, the NHS got 20 per cent more money, 20 per cent more doctors, more nurses and yet our hospitals barely treat any more patients. So I think we should be thinking about the outputs rather than just the inputs."
Turning the discussion to migration, Jenrick stressed that he wants to see a "cap in migration" and a reduction in net migration numbers "down to the historic average".
Jenrick told GB News: "One of the central arguments that I've made in the 25 years prior to Tony Blair being prime minister, net migration to our country was 59,000. In the 25 years since then, it's been 5.9 million.
"That has put immense pressure on housing, it's contributed to our young people not getting on the housing ladder, pressure on public services - I think it's undercut the wages of British workers, making us poorer, and it's made us a less united country."
He added: "I want to cap migration, make it the law of the land in the tens of thousands or fewer, bring the numbers back down to their more normal, historic average. That's what I want to do. In fact, that's one of the big choices in this leadership election, because my rival is not willing to say that."
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Reeves delivered a fresh blow to employers and small businesses in her announcement on Wednesday, confirming that employer National Insurance contributions will increase to 15 per cent from April 2026, as well as a cut to the 75 per cent discount on business rates, which will change to 40 per cent in April 2025.
Speaking on GB News, Jenrick emphasised how Labour has "conned the British public" after promising not to raise taxes before the General Election, claiming that the £40billion hike amounts to "£1,400 as a bill for every household".
The Tory candidate fumed: "I think that Rachel Reeves has been fundamentally dishonest - she's almost a compulsive liar.
"She said that taxes were not going to rise on working people before the General Election. In fact, she said it 30 times. They've just raised £40billion in taxes.
"She said there wasn't going to be more borrowing, borrowing has just massively increased. And then she invented this idea of a black hole in order to make her own political choices."
Citing the "choices" Reeves has made, Jenrick stated: "Choices like giving a well-paid train driver £10,000 a year extra money, whilst at the same time taking away the winter fuel allowances from 10 million poor pensioners.
"These are their choices. Today, working people, business owners, farmers, young people trying to get on the housing ladder, people across our country are waking up to the massive tax rises that Labor's inflicting on them."
Comparing Labour's decisions to how the Conservatives would have handled the Budget, Jenrick claimed that they wouldn't "create an energy company that doesn't produce any energy".
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Jenrick told host Tom Harwood: "They have chosen to spend money on things that we would not do. We wouldn't be giving £8billion to Ed Miliband to create an energy company that doesn't produce any energy.
"It is because of these choices that working people are paying the price today."
When asked by Tom if he agrees with the £25billion increase in NHS investment, Jenrick admitted: "I think the NHS may need more money in the years ahead, but the primary debate about the NHS right now is about reform and driving value for money, and the actual quality of care to patients.
"Over the last five years under our watch, the NHS got 20 per cent more money, 20 per cent more doctors, more nurses and yet our hospitals barely treat any more patients. So I think we should be thinking about the outputs rather than just the inputs."
Turning the discussion to migration, Jenrick stressed that he wants to see a "cap in migration" and a reduction in net migration numbers "down to the historic average".
Jenrick told GB News: "One of the central arguments that I've made in the 25 years prior to Tony Blair being prime minister, net migration to our country was 59,000. In the 25 years since then, it's been 5.9 million.
"That has put immense pressure on housing, it's contributed to our young people not getting on the housing ladder, pressure on public services - I think it's undercut the wages of British workers, making us poorer, and it's made us a less united country."
He added: "I want to cap migration, make it the law of the land in the tens of thousands or fewer, bring the numbers back down to their more normal, historic average. That's what I want to do. In fact, that's one of the big choices in this leadership election, because my rival is not willing to say that."
Find Out More...