Independent research from the House of Commons Library is being cited by the Conservatives to show how tax increases by the previous Labour Government resulted in £2000 of additional tax being paid by the average family.
The research shows that, between 1997 and 2010, the amount of National Insurance and income tax paid by the average household increased by approximately £1,895.
While the official figures show that tax rose for every economic group in society, it was the UK’s lowest earners who actually suffered the most.
Under the previous Labour Government, a family with a disposable income of £15,587 (representative of society’s second poorest ten per cent) faced a tax rise of 79 per cent, from £888 to £1,590.
At the other end of the scale, the wealthiest ten per cent of households faced a smaller relative increase in tax from £20,275 to £27,769 during the same period.
The Conservatives have aimed to show that Labour’s spending plans, for if they are successful at the next general election, imply a tax increase of almost £3,000 per family.
Meanwhile, the Labour party has launched a poster campaign to highlight their claim that 500 fewer GP surgeries are open in the evenings and at weekends under the Coalition, which they intend to change.
The Conservatives criticised Labour’s claims by highlighting the fact that the Coalition had been responsible for 1,000 extra NHS surgeries remaining open at hours suitable for those in full-time employment.