𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Lord Bailey, a Conservative Assembly Member, hit back saying that “there’s 110,000 less young people employed since your Chancellor lifted up the rate of national insurance” and blasted that Ms Reeves was “chasing young people out of their future”.

He added: “The idea that the record levels […] of tax take we have now by your government is somehow a good idea, is simply not true.”

Later in the session, another member, Conservatives Emma Best reminded assembly members that the motion was asking Labour to back their own manifesto pledge, made last year, to not raise income tax, VAT or national insurance contributions, saying “what don’t you like, you don’t like the manifesto you all went out and campaigned on a year ago, or you think the government is right to abandon its promise?”

The motion, which was submitted to the Assembly today [Thursday] referenced “the Government’s manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, as pledged in May 2024 and consistently since that time.”

It called on the body to “strongly oppose the Government abandoning its manifesto commitments” and called on Sadiq Khan to “lobby the Government to uphold its promises on tax over the course of the whole Parliament”.

Speaking later in the debate, Conservative Member Alessandro Georgiou, said that Rachel Reeves was “useless” and that “all Labour politicians who stand by [her] are equally as useless for propping up a woman who is destroying London’s economy”.

Mr Hirani said that “jibes” had been “misogynistic” and that the “Labour Party are proud to have this country’s first ever female chancellor”, after Mr Georgiou called her “Rachel from accounts”.

Susan Hall, the Conservatives leader at the Assembly hit back at allegations of misogyny directed at Ms Reeves, saying “call a spade a spade, she’s bloody useless”.