Tory MP Claire Coutinho has been called to apologise by Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis over the Conservative’s Labour tax hike claim.
The Tories have claimed that Labour will hike tax by £2,000 per household should they win the general election.
However, independent fact checkers have disputed the Tories’ claim.
So who is Ms Coutinho?
Who is Claire Coutinho?
Claire Coutinho is the Tory MP for East Surrey, a position she has held since December 2019.
She has been the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since August 31, 2023, replacing Grant Shapps, and previously worked in the Department of Education and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Upon being appointed Energy Security secretary, she pledged to “work with the Prime Minister to safeguard our energy security, reduce bills for families, and build cleaner, cheaper, homegrown energy”.
In September, she attacked Labour’s net zero policies in an article for The Sun, in which she wrote: “Put simply, we can’t do this alone, and hard-working families should not be forced to change their lives or have extra financial burdens put on them.
“That’s what Labour don’t understand though — you can’t punish people to reach net zero — you have to take people with you.”
A keen supporter of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Coutinho has been considered a “rising star” in Tory circles, moving up the ranks since first being appointed in 2019.
Before becoming an MP, Coutinho worked at investment bank Merrill Lynch and later entered a career in social justice policy, working with former party leader Iain Duncan Smith.
She has a master’s degree in Maths and Philosophy from Oxford. Her parents, who are from India, worked as GPs in the NHS.
What did Coutinho say about the Labour tax hike?
When asked by Mr Lewis if it was time to apologise for the tax hike claim, Ms Coutinho said: “No absolutely not.
“What the letter says is that you can look on gov.uk and costings are done by Government departments, the Treasury, and those are official costings.”
Mr Lewis responded: “The letter said the figure being used should not have been used and said it came from the Civil Service.
“That is what the letter said, I’ve got it in black and white in front of me.”
But Mr Coutinho then said: “People can look online. There is an official document on gov.uk which has been costed by Treasury officials which the letter confirms.
“And as I can say as someone who used to work in the Treasury, Treasury officials do not sign off dodgy numbers. They are very smart people, they are independent, impartial civil servants.”
