Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves blasted as some 'families up to £1,800 worse off'

Some families could be up to £1,800 worse off this past year because of Keir Starmer's government, the Tories have claimed. They suggested hundreds of thousands of hardworking families, specifically with toddlers in nursery, could be paying an average of up to £1,761 extra a year because of the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Mel Stride MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: "In just 12 months, Labour has taken a wrecking ball to the economy - and it's working families who are left to pick up the bill. This is the worst start to a Government in living memory but the pain isn't over. Autumn's tax hikes are now all but inevitable. This is chaos created in Downing Street.

"Only the Conservative Party, under new leadership, stands for sound public finances and fairness for taxpayers"

Energy bills have risen by an average of £152 since July 2024 while council tax will rise by an average of £109, the Tories' analysis said.

Water bills will rise by an average of £123 a year. Car tax is up by an average of £5 a year for the standard rate.

TV license bills are up by an average of £5. Phone bills are up by an average of £46. Broadband is up £36. Nursery fees, which impact around 1.3million households, are up by an average of £756 while groceries and takeaways have increased by an average of £210 a year.

The Tories added that Labour's jobs tax could cost families an average of £308 a year. Labour said the analysis does not account for wage growth.

The above averages come to a total of £1,761 but the costs would be significantly lower for families without children in nursery.

Employers previously began paying National Insurance when an employee earns more than £9,100 a year.

But from April 2025, this threshold dropped to £5,000. At the same time, the employer's NI rate rose from 13.8% to 15%.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "Kemi Badenoch's busted flush Conservatives should learn to count while they are in opposition.
"Just as they didn't in Liz Truss's mini-Budget, the Tories' still sums don't add up. They crashed the economy, left working people worse off, and still haven't apologised for the utter mess they left behind.

"Through Labour's plan for change, wages are rising faster than prices, mortgage rates have come down, three million of the lowest earners have had a pay boost, and Britain has the highest economic growth in the G7. While there is more to do, Labour is putting money back in people's pockets."