Claim

Chancellor Sajid Javid made this claim after the Conservative Party published an analysis predicting a Labour government would spend £1.2 trillion over the next parliament (a period of five years) should Jeremy Corbyn win the general election. 

Facts

The Conservatives say the figure is based on the 2017 Labour manifesto with more recent pledges added. However, the figure relies on Labour implementing its proposal for a four-day working week on their first day in office. The actual Labour proposal aims to bring down the average public sector working week to 32 hours within a decade.

The Tories allege that Labour’s policy to abolish private school would cost £35 billion. However, Labour announced that this was not its policy on 31 October. The fact checking organisation Full Fact also found examples of double counting and a reliance on inaccurate studies.

Finally, as Labour has not yet published its manifesto, which it says will be fully costed, there can be no guarantee that the costing will match Labour’s plans for government. 

Verdict

The eye-catching £1.2 trillion figure was intended to make headlines, which it duly did on the front pages of The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday. It was a fabrication. As Full Fact said, “Many of the figures behind this estimate are uncertain or based on flawed assumptions.”