In February, Keir Starmer claimed households would benefit from cheaper energy bills this spring thanks to government action. He said he was “putting money in working people’s pockets” in a major step forward in tackling the cost-of-living crisis. That was a whopper then, and it looks even more dishonest today. He isn’t putting money in working people’s pockets at all. He’s taking it out. Twice. It’s a complete scam, and this week brings the real sting.

Starmer’s office said bills would fall from April and they did. But not by £150. In practice, bills fell by just £117, so his boast instantly fell short. And it’s false on two further fronts. First, part of that drop came from falling wholesale energy prices, something no UK government controls. Second, the £150 saving wasn’t really a saving at all. It was paid for by the same working people the PM claims to be helping.

Starmer funded the pledge by shifting government levies off energy bills and onto general taxation. Which leads to yet another claim that doesn’t stack up.

Starmer said the policy was funded by asking the “wealthy” to pay their fair share. The implication is that fat cats are footing the bill for everyone else. That simply isn’t true. A more accurate definition of “wealthy” is anyone who pays income tax. That’s around 38million people. They’re the ones picking up the tab.

The abuse of language is staggering. Money is being taken from working people, then handed back in a different form so it can be presented as a saving. Except it isn’t a saving at all. And it gets even worse.

The new tax year started yesterday. A raft of costs are rising in what’s been dubbed “Awful April”, but one key threshold hasn’t moved. The personal allowance remains frozen at £12,570. Higher rate tax bands are frozen too. Thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, they’ll remain frozen all the way to 2031.

Taxpayers face an average bill of up to £220 this year alone as more of their income is dragged into higher tax bands, new research by the Lib Dems reveals. That will more than wipe out Starmer’s £150 saving (which wasn’t a saving anyway).

Most of these are “working people”, the ones Starmer claims to be helping. Many are pensioners who have paid in all their lives. Few will see themselves as “wealthy”. Especially now.

Starmer also promised to “end the era of high bills for good”. That claim doesn’t stand up either. Our tax bills are already the highest they’ve ever been, and are set to keep rising throughout this Parliament. Starmer is picking your pocket with one hand, while Reeves picks the other.

This is the reality. A supposed £150 saving that isn’t really a saving, more than wiped out by a stealth tax hike they hope you won’t notice. Starmer and Reeves think they’re clever but they aren’t fooling anyone. Voters will take their revenge at next month’s elections.