Only three brief months since the 2024 General Election and already we can safely consign pretty much everything Labour had to say about tax during the campaign to the dustbin of history. It's not just that what Labour told us, po-faced, with faux honesty and performative serious demeanour, has turned out to be untrue. In many cases it was the opposite of the truth - in other words, barefaced lies - as we will find out to our cost come its first Budget on October 30. We were assured Labour's plans for extra spending were modest and fully costed - that there was no need to increase taxes overall, bar a few small, specific rises, such as VAT on school fees.
