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Theresa May refuses to rule out raising taxes

Prime Minster Theresa May at Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley - PA Wire/PA Images
Prime Minster Theresa May at Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley - PA Wire/PA Images

Theresa May has insisted the Conservatives remain the party of "lower taxes" but refused to repeat their 2015 manifesto pledge not to put up income tax, VAT or national insurance.

At an election campaign event in Dudley in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister said voters faced a choice on June 8 between "lower taxes under the Conservatives or higher taxes under Labour".

May - Credit: PA
Prime Minster Theresa May delivers a stump speech at Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley Credit: PA

But pressed by reporters she would not be drawn on whether the previous commitment under David Cameron not to raise taxes would be included in the party's manifesto for the forthcoming general election.

Her comments came after Chancellor Philip Hammond hinted he would like to ditch the pledge, suggesting he needed more "flexibility" when it came to managing the economy.

May - Credit: Steve Back
Prime Minster Theresa May delivers a stump speech at Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley Credit: Steve Back

His remarks prompted shadow chancellor John McDonnell to claim that the Conservatives were planning a "tax bombshell" if they were returned to power.

However, Mrs May told supporters: "At this election people are going to have a very clear choice.

"They will have a choice between a Conservative Party which always has been, is and will continue to be a party that believes in lower taxes, in keeping taxes down for ordinary working people.

"Or the choice is a Labour Party whose natural instinct is always to raise taxes. That's the choice: lower taxes under the Conservatives or higher taxes under Labour."

Despite the Conservatives' commanding 20-point lead over Labour in the opinion polls, Mrs May insisted there was no room for complacency going into the campaign.

Tory targets

Amid concern among some Tories that expectations about the likely result are getting out of hand – with predictions of a landslide – she said they still had to fight for every vote.

"I am not complacent about this forthcoming election," she said.

"The opinion polls got the general election wrong in 2015. They got the EU referendum wrong. And as Jeremy Corbyn has himself said, he was a 200-to-1 chance for the Labour leadership and look at how that went.

"So we will not be complacent. We will be fighting for every single vote."

The Prime Minister has risked angering traditionalist Conservatives after she reaffirmed the Government's commitment to international aid spending while refusing to guarantee the "triple lock" for pensioners.

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Her announcement, during a campaign visit to her Maidenhead constituency on Friday, that she would stick by Mr Cameron's commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on international aid, was sharply criticised by some Tories.

Former party chairman Lord Tebbit told The Daily Telegraph: "It is a very bad start to the campaign to insist on increasing aid every year whilst there is not sufficient money for the NHS. It does not seem to make good politics to me."

The opposition parties, meanwhile, seized on Mrs May's refusal to say whether the Conservative manifesto would keep the triple lock, which guarantees the state pension increases each year by inflation, average earnings or 2.5% – whichever is highest.

May - Credit: PA
Prime Minster Theresa May arrives to deliver a stump speech at Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley in the West Midlands Credit: PA

The Prime Minister again insisted the party had always been clear about the need to support people in old age and that pensioners were £1,250 a year better off as a result of actions taken by the Conservatives.

However, the Liberal Democrats accused the Tories of "getting their betrayal in early" while Labour said they were abandoning the elderly.

Mr Corbyn, campaigning in the North West, said Labour would be using its 500,000 strong grassroots membership – the largest of any of the main parties – to get its message out to voters.

"This election is not a foregone conclusion. Labour's campaigning is off to a flying start," he said.

"We're using our membership strength to put thousands of people on the streets, knocking on doors and handing out leaflets to take our message direct to voters."

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