Braverman claims Starmer is paving the way for ‘draconian’ tax rises with upcoming speech

Suella Braverman has claimed Sir Keir Starmer is attempting to pave the way for “draconian” tax rises at the next budget with his first keynote speech as prime minister, set to be delivered on Tuesday.

She also argued that the chancellor’s claim that the government inherited a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances from the previous Tory government is “one of the biggest lies in British politics right now”.

On Tuesday, the prime minister is set to warn the British public that things will get worse before they get better.

“Things are worse than we ever imagined”, he will warn, adding: “And that is why we have to take action and do things differently. Part of that is being honest with people – about the choices we face. And how tough this will be. Frankly – things will get worse before we get better.”

Presenting a show on LBC Radio where she answers questions from callers, Mrs Braverman said of Sir Keir’s speech: “He’s going to be declaring how gloomy the situation is, the inheritance as they call it, and that things are going to get worse before they get better.

"It’s very clear in terms of what the government is seeking to do which is to set out pretty gloomy pictures about the state of the country.

“I think, personally, they’re paving the way for draconian action on tax rises and that we’re going to be seeing a real increase in the tax burden when it comes to the reality of this Labour government."

The Labour party has ruled out increases to income tax, national insurance or VAT but there is growing speculation the government could increase capital gains tax. The Treasury could also consider closing inheritance tax loopholes or reforming the way pensions are taxed.

Mrs Braverman said it is "pretty predictable that a new Labour government is going to blame the previous Conservative government for many of the ills it is facing right now".

The MP for Fareham and Waterlooville added: "We heard Rachel Reeves talk about a £22 billion black hole in the public finances a few weeks ago. I think that’s one of the biggest lies in British politics right now.

"The Conservative government left this country with the fastest growing economy in the G7. We slashed the deficit from 2010 from 10 per cent down to just over one per cent, public sector net borrowing has fallen, unemployment has fallen, the deficit and the debt have all fallen, inflation slashed, thanks to good governance and prudent financial management by the Conservative government.”

The former home secretary was later questioned by a caller, who pointed out that while the deficit has fallen, the national debt has not.

Government debt was equivalent to 99.4 per cent of GDP at the end of July 2024. It was 95.6 per cent of GDP at the end of July 2023.

Mrs Braverman claimed to have only been talking about the deficit, saying: “I talk about the deficit. I’m very proud of our record on the deficit”.

But the caller responded: “I’m not blaming you personally but I think it does say something about the financial understanding of many of our Tory representatives. The debt has been going up consistently and the debt won’t fall until the deficit is negative.”

Mrs Braverman blamed the current financial situation faced by the government on “disproportionately large, payouts to the unions in terms of public sector wage increases”.

She also accused Labour of introducing “gimmicks and vanity projects costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds”, such as putting £8bn towards Great British Energy and £7bn towards a national wealth fund.

The Treasury has been contacted for comment.