Conservatives urge Andy Burnham to rule out tax rises at Budget

Image source, PA Media Image caption, Andrew Griffith was appointed shadow chancellor by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch

The Conservatives are urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey to rule out tax rises at next month's Budget.

In his first major speech as shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said businesses were "suffering enough" and that rumours of higher taxes were "causing Britain's wealth creators to flee the country".

He also promised to replace tax rules for self-employed workers, who he said had been "badly let down" by the system.

Labour said: "Andrew Griffith has made the Conservatives' priorities clear: scrapping hard-won workers' rights, while promising tax cuts with no explanation of how they would pay for them or which public services would be cut."