Keep up to date
Get the latest Conservative news sent straight to you

Find a news story

or

News story

Labour's secret plan to increase VAT after the next election

Tuesday, November 25 2008

George Osborne

George Osborne has accused Labour of "planning to deceive the British public" after official documents revealed Labour's secret plan to increase VAT permanently to 18.5% after the next election.

The Shadow Chancellor said the revelation undermined Gordon Brown's claims in the Times newspaper that he had no "hidden manifesto" and that "everything is above board".

George stressed, "This is Labour's secret tax bombshell. It explains why there is a black hole (of £10bn in 2011-12) in the PBR - because at the last minute Gordon Brown clearly decided to keep secret his plan to hit everyone with an extra tax rise to pay for his borrowing binge."

And he added, "Labour have a secret tax bombshell set to explode under the British people if they ever get re-elected. It tells you all you need to know about Gordon Brown and Labour."

George Osborne MP

George is Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. He has worked in a wide range of departments during his political career.

Read more
Osborne George 2007

George Osborne on Labour's "spectacular own goal"

To see the video player you need to have javascript enabled and the latest version of Flash. Get Adobe Flash Player here.

The Shadow Chancellor says that Labour have done nothing but highlight their own contradictions on cuts.