Labour has been accused of plans to break a manifesto commitment after repeatedly refusing to rule out an increase to employers’ national insurance contributions. The party has come under pressure to clarify whether it sees the employer side of the tax as distinct from employee contributions, after promising during the election campaign “we will not increase National Insurance”. A former Tory minister has said it would be “absurd” to claim that raising the levy on employers but not employees is not a breach of the explicit manifesto pledge. Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride also said the government’s claim that his party left a £22 billion black hole in public finances is “fictitious”. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer declined to rule out potentially raising employers’ national insurance contributions in the upcoming Autumn budget. At the general election, Labour said it would not increase taxes on working people and included a commitment not to increase national insurance, income tax or VAT. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the Labour Government inherited a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances from its predecessors, causing speculation about how she will raise funds. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)...