17 June 2024 , 16:56
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Labour's Jonathan Ashworth has literally shredded the Tory manifesto after claiming it was already in "tatters".
The Shadow Paymaster General has warned that the Conservative manifesto doesn't add up as the party has already spent money saved from welfare cuts. He says this means the Tories' policies are unfunded as no new funding has been announced.
It comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wrote in a newsletter to constituents last week that the tax cuts in his party's manifesto would be funded by savings from "an enormous back to work programme (which I announced in the Autumn Statement last year)".
Mr Ashworth said the "bombshell revelation" shows the cash raised from the proposed benefits cuts has already been accounted for, as it was announced in November. Labour say this means there is no new funding for Rishi Sunak's manifesto policies - leaving them unfunded.
Jonathan Ashworth said Jeremy Hunt's admission on welfare cuts had 'shredded' the Tory manifesto (PA)
The Labour frontbencher said: 'The truth is the money is not there in the Tory manifesto' (PA)In a hastily arranged press conference in central London, Mr Ashworth said "this is the Tory manifesto totally shredded by Jeremy Hunt," before feeding the document into the shredder. "The truth is the money is not there in the Tory manifesto. Their manifesto lies in tatters," he said.
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"The reality is the billions of pounds with of commitments that they have made in their desperate wish list manifesto can only be funded through Liz Truss style borrowing."
Both Labour and the Tories have been calling emergency press conferences throughout the campaign. Mr Ashworth denied he was "engaging in a slanging match with the Tories", adding: "I'm just pointing out the big black hole in their plans."
A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Not for the first time in this campaign, Jonathan Ashworth is confused. The measures to achieve £12billion in welfare savings had not been announced at the time of the last OBR forecast so the entire premise of his latest press conference is redundant. Unless action is taken, the working-age welfare bill will rise by more than £20billion a year by the end of the decade.