Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary has refused to rule out launching a tax raid on pensions if the party wins power at the general election on July 4. 

Liz Kendall was asked repeatedly by Martin Lewis, the founder of the MoneySavingExpert website, if she could rule out scrapping the 25 per cent tax-free allowance on pensions but she failed to do so. 

The allowance enables people to take up to 25 per cent of a pension pot as a tax-free lump sum. 

Mr Lewis asked Ms Kendall during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme if she could rule out scrapping the allowance and she said: “We have set out all of our plans in the manifesto. There is nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes.”

Mr Lewis said that was a “disingenuous” answer because a Labour government could opt to do things that are not in the party’s manifesto. 

Asked again if she could rule out Labour getting rid of the 25 per cent tax-free allowance in the next Parliament, Ms Kendall replied: “I’m being completely straight and honest. There’s nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes.”

Asked again if she could rule it out, she said: “We have absolutely no plans for any other changes on taxes than is in our manifesto.”

The Tories responded to the exchange by saying Sir Keir Starmer “should have the courage and conviction to be honest with the British people about the tax rises Labour are already planning”.

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