KEIR Starmer has been accused of "not being honest" about cuts a Labour government would impost on public services - after he repeatedly dodged the question on Sky News.

The Labour leader appeared on Politics Hub with Sophie Ridge on Monday evening where he was grilled on whether he was going "to tax more, borrow more, or are you going to become the austerity Prime Minister?"

It comes after a Labour MP warned under Starmer's plans, the party "will end up being the midwives of austerity 2.0, which will be a disaster for the country". Senior Labour Party figures have repeatedly dodged questions over the cuts, despite backing the Tory budget and Tory fiscal rules.

Starmer refused to answer Ridge when she asked, saying "let's be honest with what we are going to inherit." He said: "What we learned last week was a terrible incitement of 14 years in government -"

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Starmer was interrupted by Ridge, saying she didn't have long and wanted him to "be honest with people" and tell the public if he "would become the austerity prime minister" if he won the General Election.

The Labour leader again failed to answer, instead focussing on planning regulations and Ridge vented frustration at his failure to respond. She responded: "oh come on, councils are going bust now."

When he tried to dodge the question again, Ridge said: "What are you going to do straight away if you're in Number 10? Be Honest. Are you going to borrow more or are you going to enact austerity?"

She later added: "The IFS has said £20 billion of cuts to public services and you're not being honest about what you're going to do. This is your chance - tell people."

The IFS has warned the UK budget implies a real-terms cut to net public sector investment of more than 25% (£18 billion) between 2024–25 and 2028–29 and up to £25 billion on a spending per person basis.

It has accused the Tories and Labour Party of a "conspiracy of silence" over the cuts, warning “Government and opposition are joining in a conspiracy of silence in not acknowledging the scale of the choices and trade-offs that will face us after the election. They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable.”


Commenting, SNP Economy spokesperson Drew Hendry MP said: "Sir Keir Starmer is not being honest about the massive cuts the Labour Party will impose on public services after he recklessly chose to back the Tory budget and Tory fiscal rules.

"The next UK government will have a choice. It can either reject austerity and invest in public services - or it can cut them to the bone. People in Scotland will be appalled that Starmer has chosen to copy the Tories and take the axe to public services.

"It's not only hugely damaging for the services we all rely on - it's also economically illiterate. The UK economy is broken because it's been hammered by Brexit and starved of investment. Now, Starmer's austerity plans will make it even worse - choking off growth."