Under the Tories, the richest people are pay a smaller and smaller proportion in tax. Yet the squeeze on middle and low earners has got larger and larger. Labour will protect 95 per cent of people – and let me tell you why:

Labour is the party of and for working people. Whether you’re a nurse, a teacher, working in an office or warehouse, or if you’re retired, Labour will stick up for you.

I met a working mum from Upton last week who struggles to pay all the bills. She works hard and cares for her family. Although her job is tough and involves long hours her wage isn’t really enough to pay all the bills.

We think that people who work should receive a fair day’s pay. That is why we will bring in a rule that no one should be paid less than £10/hour – and we will protect people’s pensions because if someone has worked hard all their life they deserve a decent pension.

One of the costs which people have to contend with is tax. And everyone should pay their fair share so that we can run schools for her children and hospitals for when they get sick.

But the Conservatives have cut the amount of tax which the richest are paying. I believe that everyone Should pay their fair share.

So over the weekend Labour made a promise. We announced that low and middle earners will pay no extra tax on their income. That means working mums like the lady who came to my office  can be sure that no more will be taken from what they are earning now.

We leave open the possibility of more tax on the incomes very high earners -; those earning over £80,000 – in order to protect people the others.

This comes with a promise that no one will see their National Insurance Contributions rise or a hike in VAT. When the cost of living is a struggle for so many working families around the country, Labour will make sure people aren’t also hit with the Government also taking more from their wallets.

The Tories will not make this guarantee. It’s part of the myth that the Tories will lower your tax. This isn’t the case, they don’t lower taxes for people like us – they just lower tax for their rich friends.

They’re using these tax breaks to give welfare to the rich, rather than supporting the poor or investing in our economy. Since the last election, the Tories have introduced a £1bn giveaway in inheritance tax to millionaires, gifted the rich a corporation tax cut of over a billion pounds and cuts capital gains tax -; which gave the equivalent of £3,000 each to the top 0.3% of the population.

To pay for this, they’ve cut jobs from our public services. They’ve cut the amount of money low earners and single parents get from Universal Credit. They tried to take £4billion away from the disabled. This is a huge injustice.

Instead, Labour will protect 95 per cent of earners. We are on the side of the majority of people who work hard to care for their families. Labour will make the richest pay their fair share and we will protect the many – not the few.