Starmer resists pressure from own party to reverse tax cuts

Sir Keir Starmer will resist pressure from his own party to reverse Liz Truss' 1 pence cut for base rate taxpayers for fear it will deal a fatal blow to Labor's chances of winning the next election.

The Labor leader has dramatically pledged to restore the 45p income tax rate for Britain's richest people, scrapped by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in his mini budget on Friday in what Sir Keir described as a policy "insane" Tory for "allowing the rich to get richer".

But he was in the face of demands to go further by restoring the rate of 20% base of the tax, which is due to be reduced to 19% in April, after Mr Kwarteng brought forward a planned reduction by a year.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Undy Burnham has publicly challenged Sir Keir, saying it was "not the most targeted way to use the resources we have at the moment".

But a senior ally of the Labor leader said The Independentthere was no way the Labor leader would back down.

"We can't go to the election saying to ordinary working people 'we're going to raise your taxes' and expect win,” the MP said at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool.

Mr. Burnham was accused by Starmer loyalists of engaging in leadership maneuvers after he told a fringe meeting: "We need to get a little more on the front foot and say we're going to fight back - in parliament and in all the countries.

But the mayor of Manchester – who came just one point behind Sir Keir in an independent poll as the favorite leader of Labor supporters – insisted: " He has my support. I'm here to help.

As ministers braced for further carnage in the markets when they reopen on Monday, Mr Kwarteng brushed aside criticism of his £45 tax giveaway billion pounds, which caused the pound's value to plummet and its share price to fall sharply.

Dismissing claims that his package represented a massive 'bet' with the economy, he doubled down on his policy, saying, "There's more to come."

Abolition of the 45p "additional rate" of income tax will average 10,000 to 630,000 people earning £150,000 a year or more at a cost to the Treasury of £2bn, while the £5bn change to the base rate is worth an average of just £170 to millions ns of the lowest paid workers.

But Sir Keir made it clear he supported the 1p cut, telling the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: 'I have long argued that we should reduce the burden tax on workers."

In contrast, he broke with his longstanding refusal to spell out tax plans ahead of the election with a firm commitment to restore the 45p rate.

< p>"I don't think the choice to have tax cuts for those earning hundreds of thousands of pounds is the right choice when our economy is struggling as it is, working people are struggling in the way they are" , said the Labor leader. "It's the wrong choice."

The Starmer ally said Ms Truss' decision to give tax relief to the wealthy and lift the cap on bankers' bonuses had offered Labor a "massive dividing line" to exploit in its efforts to win back voters who had dropped out of the party in the last four elections.

"When we heard about the bankers' bonuses, we said 'you joking? Why would you do that?'"

At Liverpool's crucial annual conference, Sir Keir faced pressure to bolster support for strikers demanding pay rises to match the surge in inflation of 10% or more.

Deputy Leader Angela Rayner delivered a loud message of support for unions, telling the conference that she would defend the right to strike "as long as I will have a breath in my body" and promising that the Labor Party will repeal t all the anti-union laws passed by the Tories.

And Shadow Cabinet Minister Ed Miliband has backed bumper pay deals, telling Times Radio they 'should keep up with inflation'. Shadow Transport Minister Tan Dhesi told a meeting on the sidelines of the conference that Labor would bring rail back into public ownership.

But Sir Keir was more cautious, saying only that it was "reasonable" for people to expect salaries that take into account...