DWP dispels Rishi Sunak pension claim in ITV debate and it is 'wrong'

The Department for Work and Pensions has dispelled a claim from Rishi Sunak in the first ITV debate. The DWP statistics show Mr Sunak's pension claim was false after he engaged in the first lived televised debate on ITV with Sir Keir Starmer.

The Prime Minister said that the opposition's spending plans would result in pensioners paying tax "for the first time," but this was almost immediately challenged by experts. Paul Lewis, formerly of Radio 4's Money Box, warned the DWP admitted that around one in 10 pensioners are paying tax.

Posting on X alongside the debate, Paul Lewis said: "Sunak: we will ensure the state pension is never subject to tax. Hmmm. DWP told me in an FOI that 1.5million people already have a state pension which by itself is liable to tax."

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Mr Sunak claimed repeatedly that Labour’s policies would lead to a £2,000 tax rise for families. “Labour will raise your taxes. It’s in their DNA. Your work, your car, your pension – Labour will tax it,” the prime minister said. In response Starmer said the Tories had “put pretend Labour policies to the Treasury” to produce a fantasy figure.

“If he thinks things are going to get better towards the second half of this year, why has he called it now? He’s called it now because he knows, and I’ll ask him this, he knows inflation is going to go back up, he knows energy prices are going to go back up in the autumn,” Starmer said. “That’s what he’s not telling you.”

Both leaders committed not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT. In his closing statement, Starmer said re-electing the Tories would be like “the arsonists handed back the matches”.

“I don’t offer you the gimmicks or unfunded promises that Rishi Sunak does,” he said. “I don’t pretend there’s a magic wand that will fix everything overnight. Instead, I offer a practical commonsense plan to change Britain.”