Keir Starmer warns voters will have to accept pylons or pay higher taxes - as PM admits the public already feel that taxes are too high

People already feel taxes are too high, Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged as he warned it would be too costly to build controversial new power lines underground.

The Prime Minister said the 'one consistent theme' during the election campaign was that the public already believe they are giving too much of their money to the state.

His comments come just a month before his Government's crucial Budget, at which his Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widely expected to hike levies such as Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax or fuel duty in order to fill what she claims is a £22billion black hole in the public finances.

The PM made his comments as he expanded on claims made in his speech to the Labour party conference last week that it was time for politicians to level with the public about the trade-offs needed to deliver 'national renewal', including more overground pylons to deliver cheaper electricity.

There is huge anger in East Anglia about a 112-mile-long line of electricity pylons that is set to be built across the countryside to connect to offshore wind farms , which would help Labour achieve its promise of delivering 'clean power' by 2030.

Sir Keir was asked if rural campaigners were right to say he was throwing them 'under a bus' and ignoring environmentally friendly alternatives, and replied: 'No they're not, but that section of my speech was intended to be and was a sort of honest levelling with the country, which is to say "if you want XYZ, then we've got to face up to the fact that there are a number of consequences for that".

'Obviously, one example was if you want a justice system to work properly and you want prison places to be there, then some people are going have to have a new prison near them.

'If you want lower energy bills, we're going to have to have pylons above the ground.'

Speaking to reporters on his trip to New York last week, he went on: 'Yes, there is the option to put them below the ground - it costs much more money, and if there's one consistent theme into and out of the last election, it's that most people feel they're already paying too much tax, and I don't think many would put their hand up to pay more tax in relation to that.

'These are the sorts of trade-offs.'

Sir Keir added: 'It's same with housing - if we want people to be actually able to buy their own homes, then we are going to have to accommodate that in communities.

'I think we just shied away from these trade-offs for too long. We've got to be serious about it.

'Now, of course, we will consult with people, there are always options, but I do want to be clear: these are serious trade-offs that we're going to have to make and we're going to have to take those decisions.'

Labour's manifesto vowed to build 1.5million new homes in five years, with planning rules relaxed to make it easier for applications to be approved and town halls forced to stick to targets.

Ministers will also be given the final say on proposals for new prisons, to stop them being blocked by local councils, with an extra 14,000 places promised to prevent further early release of criminals to ease overcrowding.