![\"BBC](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/662d\/live\/59e076e0-3895-11ef-bdc5-41d7421c2adf.png.webp\")
BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nBBC Verify has been fact-checking the political parties during this election campaign and seen some questionable claims at the forefront of the debate.<\/p>\n
If you are still making up your mind before heading to the polls, here is what you need to know about some of the potentially misleading statements the parties have made.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Tories claim Labour spending would put taxes up by \u00a32,000 per family<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nThis figure risks misleading people because it adds up four years of supposedly extra taxes resulting from Labour\u2019s manifesto spending plans.<\/p>\n
It was asserted by Rishi Sunak 11 times in the first leaders\u2019 debate and he has been using it on social media ever since.<\/a><\/p>\nThat is not what you would normally think of if somebody said your taxes were going up by \u00a32,000 – you’d think they meant in a single year.<\/p>\n
The Office for Statistics Regulation has said<\/a> \u201csomeone hearing the claim would have no way of knowing that this is an estimate summed together over four years\u201d.<\/p>\nThe Conservatives also said the costings of Labour\u2019s plans were worked out by impartial civil servants, but some are based on assumptions made by politically appointed special advisers. Labour disputes the figures. <\/p>\n
You can read more here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\nLabour claim Conservative spending would mean \u00a34,800 extra on your mortgage<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nThis figure – unveiled at a press conference by the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves – is based on some questionable assumptions about how much the Conservatives would have to borrow if they won the election and the impact of this borrowing on Bank of England interest rates.<\/p>\n
It has been posted multiple times on Facebook and also posted on X by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.<\/p>\n
The Conservatives say they will be able to pay for their planned tax cuts by saving \u00a312bn a year from the welfare bill. Labour’s calculations assume they would make none of these savings at all, which is probably unrealistic.<\/p>\n
Also, the \u00a34,800 figure is the supposed extra mortgage costs on a household added up over five years, not the cost falling in a single year, which risks misleading people.<\/p>\n
The statistics regulator<\/a> has called for more context and transparency around how this figure was reached. <\/p>\nYou can read more here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\nLiberal Democrat bar charts<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nThe Liberal Democrats\u2019 election literature has had a heavy emphasis<\/a> on tactical voting in this election and, as in other years, has used a lot of bar charts.<\/p>\nIn one constituency in this campaign, a leaflet shows the party\u2019s local vote share in 2010 and Labour\u2019s share in 2017, two cherry picked years.<\/p>\n
The claim that “only the Liberal Democrats can beat the Conservatives here” is misleading. <\/p>\n
If they had selected 2019, then the chart would have shown the Lib Dems on 15.1% and Labour on 24.8%.<\/p>\n
The chart also misses out the vote share of the Conservatives who have actually held the seat since 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\".](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/f6ed\/live\/4fa0f850-3924-11ef-bdc5-41d7421c2adf.png.webp\")
.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\nThe Office for Statistics Regulation says<\/a> \u201cpolling or election results data should be visualised in a way that does not mislead the average reader about the relative support for different parties\u201d.<\/p>\nSome Lib Dem campaign literature – as well as some produced by other parties<\/a> in areas of the country – does not pass that test.<\/p>\nOther leaflets have used local election results as a guide to the general election, which can be unreliable, or they have exaggerated the size of their bars in the chart to boost their apparent performance.<\/p>\n
You can read more here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\nReform UK claims migrants in small boats could be returned to France<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nPicking up small-boat migrants in the English Channel and returning them to France is a core Reform UK pledge. Party chairman Richard Tice has repeatedly claimed the UK is legally entitled to do this.<\/p>\n
But there is no evidence that this is the case.<\/p>\n
While international maritime laws allow a state to pick people up at sea if they are \u201cin danger of being lost\u201d, they do not allow them to be taken to another state without that country agreeing.<\/p>\n
According to James M Turner KC, a shipping lawyer at Quadrant Chambers: “The French would have to grant express permission for UK vessels to carry rescued people through their territorial waters and to leave them ashore in France.”<\/p>\n
Ainhoa Camp\u00e0s Velasco, a maritime law expert from the University of Southampton, said migrants could not be returned to French shores \u201cwithout prior agreement with France”.<\/p>\n
There is no such agreement between the UK and France. Mr Tice says he has his own legal advice but has not shared this, despite a request from BBC Verify.<\/p>\n
You can read more here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe SNP claims Labour\u2019s North Sea oil plans risk 100,000 jobs<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n\n![\"PA](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/dcae\/live\/02613580-387c-11ef-a044-9d4367d5b599.jpg.webp\")
PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\nOne-hundred-thousand is roughly the number of jobs that Scotland\u2019s oil and gas industry supports in the wider economy but it is misleading for the SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn to repeatedly suggest Labour\u2019s plans put all of these jobs at risk.<\/p>\n
Labour has said it would not issue new oil and gas licences, but it has also pledged not to overturn existing licences.<\/p>\n
And the Climate Change Committee, the government’s independent adviser, has said there is potential for the move to renewable energy to “create more jobs than will be lost” across the UK.<\/p>\n
You can read more here. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Greens\u2019 claims on their tax plans<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nCo-leader Adrian Ramsay told BBC Panorama on 18 June that the Greens’ tax plans, relative to the size of the economy (GDP), would take us \u201ccloser to where the average European country is\u201d and that the UK is currently \u201cright at the bottom\u201d of the European league table, before saying a bit later \u201cnear the bottom\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a Today interview on 12 June, he said about his party’s tax proposals: \u201cWe\u2019d still be near the bottom of the European league in terms of the percentage of the tax base overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2021, the UK raised 33.5% tax as a share of the economy, which was lower than all European countries other than Ireland, Switzerland, Latvia and Lithuania.<\/p>\n
By 2027-28, the UK tax share is already on course to move to 37.7%, close to the average<\/a> of Western European countries.<\/p>\nAnd the Greens’ manifesto proposes to raise up to \u00a3151bn a year from new taxes by 2029 – an increase of about 4.5% of GDP.<\/p>\n
If implemented on top, this would take the UK tax share to around 42% of GDP, higher than the current Western European average of 39.9%.<\/p>\n
Other European countries could change their tax shares over the coming years, so we can\u2019t be sure of where the UK would sit in the 2029 rankings.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s tax share, however, would still likely be below some large European countries such as France and Italy.<\/p>\n
This figure risks misleading people because it adds up four years of supposedly extra taxes resulting from Labour\u2019s manifesto spending plans.<\/p>\n
It was asserted by Rishi Sunak 11 times in the first leaders\u2019 debate and he has been using it on social media ever since.<\/a><\/p>\n That is not what you would normally think of if somebody said your taxes were going up by \u00a32,000 – you’d think they meant in a single year.<\/p>\n The Office for Statistics Regulation has said<\/a> \u201csomeone hearing the claim would have no way of knowing that this is an estimate summed together over four years\u201d.<\/p>\n The Conservatives also said the costings of Labour\u2019s plans were worked out by impartial civil servants, but some are based on assumptions made by politically appointed special advisers. Labour disputes the figures. <\/p>\n You can read more here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n This figure – unveiled at a press conference by the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves – is based on some questionable assumptions about how much the Conservatives would have to borrow if they won the election and the impact of this borrowing on Bank of England interest rates.<\/p>\n It has been posted multiple times on Facebook and also posted on X by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.<\/p>\n The Conservatives say they will be able to pay for their planned tax cuts by saving \u00a312bn a year from the welfare bill. Labour’s calculations assume they would make none of these savings at all, which is probably unrealistic.<\/p>\n Also, the \u00a34,800 figure is the supposed extra mortgage costs on a household added up over five years, not the cost falling in a single year, which risks misleading people.<\/p>\n The statistics regulator<\/a> has called for more context and transparency around how this figure was reached. <\/p>\n You can read more here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Liberal Democrats\u2019 election literature has had a heavy emphasis<\/a> on tactical voting in this election and, as in other years, has used a lot of bar charts.<\/p>\n In one constituency in this campaign, a leaflet shows the party\u2019s local vote share in 2010 and Labour\u2019s share in 2017, two cherry picked years.<\/p>\n The claim that “only the Liberal Democrats can beat the Conservatives here” is misleading. <\/p>\n If they had selected 2019, then the chart would have shown the Lib Dems on 15.1% and Labour on 24.8%.<\/p>\n The chart also misses out the vote share of the Conservatives who have actually held the seat since 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Office for Statistics Regulation says<\/a> \u201cpolling or election results data should be visualised in a way that does not mislead the average reader about the relative support for different parties\u201d.<\/p>\n Some Lib Dem campaign literature – as well as some produced by other parties<\/a> in areas of the country – does not pass that test.<\/p>\n Other leaflets have used local election results as a guide to the general election, which can be unreliable, or they have exaggerated the size of their bars in the chart to boost their apparent performance.<\/p>\n You can read more here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Picking up small-boat migrants in the English Channel and returning them to France is a core Reform UK pledge. Party chairman Richard Tice has repeatedly claimed the UK is legally entitled to do this.<\/p>\n But there is no evidence that this is the case.<\/p>\n While international maritime laws allow a state to pick people up at sea if they are \u201cin danger of being lost\u201d, they do not allow them to be taken to another state without that country agreeing.<\/p>\n According to James M Turner KC, a shipping lawyer at Quadrant Chambers: “The French would have to grant express permission for UK vessels to carry rescued people through their territorial waters and to leave them ashore in France.”<\/p>\n Ainhoa Camp\u00e0s Velasco, a maritime law expert from the University of Southampton, said migrants could not be returned to French shores \u201cwithout prior agreement with France”.<\/p>\n There is no such agreement between the UK and France. Mr Tice says he has his own legal advice but has not shared this, despite a request from BBC Verify.<\/p>\n You can read more here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n One-hundred-thousand is roughly the number of jobs that Scotland\u2019s oil and gas industry supports in the wider economy but it is misleading for the SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn to repeatedly suggest Labour\u2019s plans put all of these jobs at risk.<\/p>\n Labour has said it would not issue new oil and gas licences, but it has also pledged not to overturn existing licences.<\/p>\n And the Climate Change Committee, the government’s independent adviser, has said there is potential for the move to renewable energy to “create more jobs than will be lost” across the UK.<\/p>\n You can read more here. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Co-leader Adrian Ramsay told BBC Panorama on 18 June that the Greens’ tax plans, relative to the size of the economy (GDP), would take us \u201ccloser to where the average European country is\u201d and that the UK is currently \u201cright at the bottom\u201d of the European league table, before saying a bit later \u201cnear the bottom\u201d.<\/p>\n In a Today interview on 12 June, he said about his party’s tax proposals: \u201cWe\u2019d still be near the bottom of the European league in terms of the percentage of the tax base overall.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2021, the UK raised 33.5% tax as a share of the economy, which was lower than all European countries other than Ireland, Switzerland, Latvia and Lithuania.<\/p>\n By 2027-28, the UK tax share is already on course to move to 37.7%, close to the average<\/a> of Western European countries.<\/p>\n And the Greens’ manifesto proposes to raise up to \u00a3151bn a year from new taxes by 2029 – an increase of about 4.5% of GDP.<\/p>\n If implemented on top, this would take the UK tax share to around 42% of GDP, higher than the current Western European average of 39.9%.<\/p>\n Other European countries could change their tax shares over the coming years, so we can\u2019t be sure of where the UK would sit in the 2029 rankings.<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s tax share, however, would still likely be below some large European countries such as France and Italy.<\/p>\nLabour claim Conservative spending would mean \u00a34,800 extra on your mortgage<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat bar charts<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nReform UK claims migrants in small boats could be returned to France<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
The SNP claims Labour\u2019s North Sea oil plans risk 100,000 jobs<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nThe Greens\u2019 claims on their tax plans<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"BBC](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/825d\/live\/9ded4480-32fa-11ef-bdc5-41d7421c2adf.png.webp\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n