Election latest: Minister criticises ‘celebrating’ of Banksy migrant boat inflatable at Glastonbury – as campaign enters final straight | Politics News

Home Secretary James Cleverly says high taxes under the Tories are down to “genuinely unique circumstances”.

Pushing the line that taxes will rise from their already modern-high record level if Labour wins on Thursday, he says: “We are committed to cutting taxes. 

“Taxes are higher than we would like, we’ve said that, and as Conservatives we are determined to bring them down.

“Labour will send them up.”

Mr Cleverly goes on to reiterate: “We are determined to bring taxes down, we have started to do that.

“That is in contrast with the Labour Party, who we know because they’ve said so, they’re going to put taxes up.”

Labour has said it won’t raise VAT, national insurance or income tax – but has been non-committal on other taxes.

It says it would abolish the VAT break on private schools, introduce windfall taxes on oil and gas companies and close loopholes in the non-dom rules.

Later in the conversation with Sky News, the home secretary dismisses Reform UK as a threat to the Conservatives.

He says there are only two people who could credibly be in Number 10 on Friday: Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

“The best case scenario is predicted that Reform UK might get a small number of seats, but in doing so give Labour a huge majority.”