Keir Starmer promises no capital gains tax on sales of homes

Keir Starmer responded to the claims during a visit to Bassetlaw hospital in Nottinghamshire. Photograph: Cameron Smith/Getty Images

Keir Starmer has ruled out imposing capital gains tax on the sale of people’s homes and said it was “desperate” tactics from the Tories to suggest that he would.

The Labour leader said he could “absolutely” guarantee that would not happen.

While Labour has explicitly ruled out increasing the rates of income tax, VAT and national insurance, it has largely responded to questions about its wider tax policy by saying there were “no plans” in the manifesto that required tax rises beyond those set out in the document.

The Tories have claimed that Labour is planning a series of secret tax raids, including the possibility of making the sale of a primary residence liable for capital gains tax.

Starmer told reporters on a visit to a hospital in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on Saturday: “This was just a desperate story by the Tories in relation to capital gains tax on primary residences.”

He added: “There was never a policy so it doesn’t need ruling out, but let’s rule it out in case anybody pretends that it was.”

His comments come after Fraser Nelson, the editor of the Spectator , criticised the Conservatives, accusing them of believing they have a “licence to lie” in election campaigns.

When asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how Rishi Sunak’s team had reacted to Nelson calling out the Conservative leader’s disputed claim that Labour’s plans would mean “£2,000 in higher taxes for every working family in our country”, the journalist said: “It’s strange they seem to think they’ve got a licence to lie during election campaigns. Political adverts aren’t regulated by the Advertising Standards Agency, so you can say things there that would get you prosecuted.

“Now, I don’t know if they expect tribalism from journalists on the right, but journalists are going to point out untruths when they’re seen. Suffice to say, it didn’t go down very well, but we had the same stuff from David Cameron’s side during the election campaign. The Spectator is a journalistic outfit which exists to tell readers what’s true and what’s not.”

However, the former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who was also part of the radio discussion, later said: “I must point out, Fraser, and fair play to you for calling out the Tory lies, but you did once have a permanent compulsive liar in Boris Johnson, as your editor.”

Much of the Tory discussion now centres on Nigel Farage and the challenges the Conservatives face from the Reform party.

In a television interview, Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, said: “If you vote Reform, you’re going to get a Labour government.”

And in an interview with the Times, David Cameron, the foreign secretary, said Farage was “trying to destroy” the Conservative party.

He also criticised Farage’s “inflammatory language” and “dog whistle” politics, adding there was no room in the Conservative party for Farage’s “incredibly divisive” approach.

“He [Farage] is currently trying to destroy the Conservative party by standing for Reform,” Cameron said. “I want to be as sure as we can that we get no Reform members of parliament and the Conservative party can move forward.”

He added: “I think there’s room [in the Conservative party] for people who care about immigration. I think there’s room for people who want to stand up for strong defence. But the other baggage you get, which can be incredibly divisive, we don’t want that.

“My point is what I want is robust policy and measured language. I think with these populists what you get is inflammatory language and hopeless policy.”

Questioned by the Times on Farage’s claim that Rishi Sunak “doesn’t understand our culture”, Cameron responded: “You don’t have to watch sheepdog trials to hear a dog whistle.”