PM Sunak told to stop ‘clobbering’ workers
THE Prime Minister has been accused of protecting wealthy non-doms while hammering working people as he faced questions in the Commons.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on Rishi Sunak to scrap the non-dom tax status for wealthy internationals, as he accused the Government of “clobbering” working people.
The attack on non-dom status hits at Mr Sunak personally, as his wife Akshata Murthy reportedly benefits from the special tax status.
The Labour leader told the Commons: “The failure of the last 12 years and the chaos of the last 12 weeks are compounded by the decisions he is taking now. He won’t follow Labour’s plan to scrap non-dom status. Instead we have got an NHS staffing crisis.
“He won’t follow Labour’s plans to make oil and gas giants pay their fair share, instead he hammers working people.”
Sir Keir added: “Too weak to take on his party, too weak to take on vested interests, 12 long years of Tory Government, five prime ministers, seven chancellors. Why do they always clobber working people?”
Mr Sunak replied: “He talks about leadership, this summer I stood on my principles and told the country what they needed to hear even though it was difficult. When he ran for leader, he told his party what they wanted to hear.
“Even now, he says one thing and he does the other. He says he cares for working people, but he won’t stand up to the unions. He said he’d honour Brexit but he tried to have a second referendum, and now he tries to talk tough about immigration but he promised to defend free movement.”
The Labour leader had earlier questioned Mr Sunak on why the UK “is set to be first into a recession and the last out” and why the UK was “bottom of the 38 OECD countries”.
He added: “Because of changes he’s made a typical household will end up with tax increases of £1,400 ... contrast that to a super wealthy non-dom living here, but holding their income overseas. How much more has he asked them to pay?”
Mr Sunak replied: “Labour had 13 years to address this issue and did nothing. It was the Conservative government that took action.”