There is, Harrison said “a long history of this being extremely damaging,” as he highlighted the example of Conservative tax rises in 1993 which led to their own “loss of trust.”

Harrison added that, as prime minister, Conservative David Cameron had been “obsessed” with keeping manifesto pledges after witnessing the damage done to his Liberal Democrat coalition partners in the 2010s. That party reneged on a promise to scrap university tuition fees, and suffered greatly at the ballot box.

Starmer’s government has stumbled into another political quagmire in recent days as he grasps to define “working people,” variously arguing that this term should or shouldn’t include people with assets and shares.

As Luke Tryl, director of polling firm More in Common, sums it up: “Not raising taxes on working people leaves you with a very small group of people who wouldn’t describe themselves like that.”

Separately, Reeves confirmed last week that she will reform the U.K.’s fiscal rules to free up tens of billions of pounds in extra investment spending over the course of the parliament: something she explicitly ruled out doing in opposition.

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are hoping that all will be forgiven if they can show they are taking meaningful steps toward repairing essential public services and providing help for the worst-off. | Leon Neal/Getty Images)

An ally of the chancellor, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Reeves’ move was trailed in advance last week to allow “the markets to get used to the idea” as the government seeks to avoid the chaos sparked by short-serving Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss’ infamous 2022 mini-budget. 

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