JEREMY Hunt last night warned that Sir Keir Starmer will plunge Britain into “taxtopia” if he gets the keys to No10.
In a stark address to Brits, he said voting for Nigel Farage’s Reform Party would hand Labour a landslide victory and “unchecked power”.
Doug SeeburgChancellor Jeremy Hunt MP at a cafe in his Surrey constituency[/caption]
Turning his fire on Mr Farage, he also said Reform will fail in their mission to destroy the Tory Party and it will still be here “in 100 years time”.
And he dismissed chatter the Tories will do “dodgy deals” or merge with Reform UK.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday, he admitted Brits feel “bruised” over sky high taxes and immigration, but pleaded to be trusted to bring both numbers down.
Mr Hunt said: “On tax, yes we put it up. But we started putting it down with four pence off national insurance.
“That’s a tax cut for working people and we want to go further in the next parliament.
Doug SeeburgSun on Sunday political Editor Kate Ferguson speaks to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP at a cafe in his Surrey constituency[/caption]
Doug SeeburgJeremy Hunt issued a furious warning that a Labour government will whack up taxes on homes, cars and pensions[/caption]
“Compare that to taxtopia. Taxtopia is what we will get under a Labour government.”
He was speaking after a bombshell YouGov poll put Reform ahead of the Tories for the first time – on 19 per cent versus 18 per cent.
It sparked dire warnings the Conservatives could be utterly wiped out in the July 4 election.
This would be the first time in 100 years of British history that a major political party had collapsed at the ballot box.
Meanwhile, Labour are predicted to get the biggest landslide in 100 years.
In a direct plea to disillusioned Tories thinking of voting Reform, he added: “A vote for Reform will mean fewer centre right MPs in Parliament, not more.
“It will give Keir Starmer an unchecked majority.
“He will have a free hand to help himself to your salary to your pension to the value of your house. All the things that Labour governments have always wanted to do.”
There is a real danger Sir Keir gets such a stonking majority on July 4 that he will “have no opposition” to keep his lefty instincts in check, the Chancellor said.
Mr Hunt spoke out amid chaos and rows over Labour’s tax plans.
The Tories have accused Labour of secretly plotting 17 tax rises – including on pensions, home and cars.
In the latest broadside, they say Labour could slap new taxes on flying, hiking the cost of foreign holidays.
While the Tories rule out green levies and frequent flyer taxes, Labour’s manifesto does not.
Meanwhile, confusion surrounds Labour’s capital gains tax plans.
Sir Keir refused to rule out hiking the tax on family homes in an interview broadcast on the BBC on Friday night.
Labour were then forced to put out a statement after the interview was filmed – but before it aired – insisting they would not hike the tax on main homes.
They have already ruled out raising VAT, income tax and National Insurance Contributions.
ReutersBritain’s Reform UK Party Leader Nigel Farage says he is the leader of the opposition now[/caption]
Although Labour’s manifesto contained £8.5 billion in tax rises – including VAT on private schools and ending non-dom status.
Mr Hunt sat down with The Sun on Sunday as the Conservative Party is plunged into its biggest crisis in its 200 year history.
Mr Farage’s political comeback has sent Reform soaring in the polls.
Nigel is expected to finally be elected an MP – for Clacton – at his eighth attempt.
Reform wants to get a staggering 6 million votes. They could also win up to six parliamentary seats, party insiders say.
Taunting his Tory rivals, Mr Farage has declared himself the true “leader of the opposition”.
But Mr Hunt furiously hit back at claims his party are teetering on the brink of death.
“I wouldn’t say it is the battle of its life, but it is a big battle”, he said.
“We are going to be around in 100 years time, let alone 10 years time. Of that you can be absolutely sure.
“But this election is a tough one for us because we’ve taken very difficult decisions.”
He also dismissed calls for Mr Farage to join the Conservative Party.
“You can listen to what Mr Farage himself said. He’s not interested in any deals or pacts”, Mr Hunt said.
“What I’m interested in is not dodgy deals with other parties.
“I want to win the argument with the British people.”
Mr Hunt himself is in the political fight of his life.
His old seat of South West Surrey has been Tory since it was created in 1983.
But boundary changes – it now called Godalming and Ash – and Tory woes means it could turn Lib Dem.
Mr Hunt reckons 1,500 votes or less will determine if he loses.
If he does, he will be the first sitting Chancellor to lose.
Does he wake up in the middle of the night thinking he will be the dreaded ‘Michael Portillo moment’ – a reference to when the famous Tory lost in the 1997 Labour landslide?
“What I wake up in the night thinking is that we have to win the argument” Jeremy said.
“If I want to avoid a Portillo moment we have to win the argument with people, not just in this constituency but up and down the country.”
But as Mr Hunt launched his volley of attacks at Labour, inside the Tory Party the atmosphere is grim.
Lee Anderson – the ex Tory deputy chairman who defected to Reform – said panicked Conservative MPs have been ringing him.
He said: “Some have said they wished they had come with me to Reform.”
On the Reform surge, he added: “Nigel is the Messiah!”
A bitter blame game is erupting in No10 as key aides to PM Rishi Sunak point the finger at each other for their crisis-hit election campaign.
One insider said: “D Day was a disaster. It has caused a lot of anger.”
Another said: “A lot of people have just checked out.”
Labour had been braced for the Conservative dark arts machine to wage a brutal war on its candidates and policies.
But they think the infamous Tory attack dog has lost its bite.
“The onslaught we feared just never came”, said one.
Tory MPs are running hyper local campaigns and not in much contact with No10.
Many are putting out leaflets admitting the election is over and pleading for votes as they are strong local MPs.
It is the same tactic Labour moderates used in the 2017 and 2019 elections under Jeremy Corbyn.
Inside Tory circles, minds have already moved on to the leadership race to come.
Kemi Badenoch’s aides are busy scoping out support. Robert Jenrick is ready to press go on his campaign.
There is renewed chatter that David Cameron could even be a caretaker Tory leader if Rishi quits immediately after the election.
Although this seems highly unlikely as he is a peer not an MP, and therefore not allowed to come to the Commons for PMQs and other key events.
Publicly, the Tories still insist they can win the election,.
But they are playing a very defensive game; warning against giving Labour a “super majority” and the need to hold power in check.
A Labour spokeswoman said: “Having spent 14 years making promises they could not deliver, this desperate Tory party is now reduced every day to making up a new Labour plan that does not exist.
“We are not going to spend the next two weeks responding to whatever fantasy plans the Tories are making up.
“The country needs change and we have set out a clear, practical and costed plan for change in our manifesto.”