PM pressed on income tax personal allowance increase
The Prime Minister was questioned about a potential increase to the income tax personal allowance but did not make any commitment, leaving the policy uncertain.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The Prime Minister has declined to commit to increasing the income tax personal allowance, despite growing pressure from within his own party and voters. The policy, which would raise the threshold at which people start paying income tax, has been frozen since 2021. As wages rise with inflation, more people have been dragged into paying tax or paying higher rates.
Questions about a possible increase were prompted by comments from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. In an interview with the Times newspaper over the weekend, Burnham said the issue had been a major concern for voters in the Makerfield by-election and that he understood the pressure it was putting on people. Some interpreted his remarks as a hint that the government might act to ease the cost of living.
But when pressed on the matter, the Prime Minister made clear there was no commitment. He said he would not make an unfunded promise, though he stopped short of ruling out a change entirely. The policy is expected to be considered again at the autumn budget. The cost of increasing the personal allowance would run into billions of pounds.
The Prime Minister has instead pointed to other measures aimed at helping households, including a cap on bus fares and the removal of VAT on electricity bills. However, those policies have been described as relatively small in the context of overall government spending.
UK inflation fell to 2.6% last month, down from 2.8% in May, driven largely by lower fuel prices. The Office for National Statistics attributed the drop to a fall in fuel costs.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| Increasing the personal allowance would cost billions of pounds. | |
| The personal allowance has been frozen since 2021. | |
| The PM has not committed to the policy but has not ruled it out. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report framed the story as a political non-commitment, highlighting the Prime Minister's refusal to make an unfunded promise while leaving the door open for the autumn budget. It gave significant context by linking the issue to Andy Burnham's comments and the broader cost of living debate, and noted that other government policies were relatively small in scale.
- “the Prime Minister wants us all to know that he is absolutely focused on the cost of living.”
- “the Prime Minister has clarified today there is no commitment on this, he's not making an unfunded promise as he puts it.”
- “the short answer would be no change to that personal allowance on income tax, just now, later, still a maybe.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.