Rachel Reeves denies lying about budget black hole to justify tax hike – latest

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said Chancellor Rachel Reeves is “raising taxes on welfare” in the budget and she “should resign”.

Mrs Badenoch told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “The Chancellor called an emergency press conference and told everyone how terrible the situation of the finances was and now we have seen that the OBR has told him exactly the opposite.

“She was raising taxes on welfare.

“The only thing that wasn’t funded were the welfare payments that she made and she’s doing that on the backs of a lot of people who are working very hard and getting poorer.

“And because of this, I believe he should resign.”

Ms Badenoch said: “Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has written to the FCA.

“Hopefully there will be an investigation, because it seems like what she was doing was trying to get her budget down – tell everyone how terrible it would be and then when she finally announced it they wouldn’t be as upset – and still quietly included in those tax increases for welfare.

“We shouldn’t be running this process like this. We need people to have confidence in our system for the announcement that the Chancellor is going to make.”

Analysis provided by Kate Devlin, Whitehall editor of The Independent.

The chancellor has hit back at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the UK’s most prestigious economic think tank, after it said on Thursday that the better-than-expected figures meant Ms Reeves was not given “more fiscal repair work” to do in the Budget.

Ms Reeves was told that the country had a surplus of £4 billion in its finances at the end of October.

She told the BBC this morning: “I know some people are suggesting there was a little surplus… but if I was on this program today and I was saying a £4 billion surplus was fine, there was no economic repair work to be done, I think you’d be right that that’s not good enough.

“It would have been the lowest surplus any chancellor has ever delivered against his fiscal rules. I was clear that I wanted to build that resilience (into the economy).”

Labor will need a budget to resonate well with swing voters in areas such as Sheerness and Kensington if the party is to have any chance of retaining power at the next general election. dan haygarth And hebe campbell Spoke to locals to see if they are convinced.

Analysis provided by Kate Devlin, Whitehall editor of The Independent.

The budget was seen as make-or-break for the Chancellor’s political career, as he and Keir Starmer were under intense pressure from Labor MPs.

This morning she denied that her budget was at the expense of Labor MPs, many of whom have supported its measures, rather than the country, telling the BBC: “I don’t accept that at all.”

Under pressure about her future, when asked if she would become Chancellor for the coming years, she said “yes”, and explained how she had been consistently underestimated throughout her career.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party will overturn scrapping the two-child benefit limit.

Mrs Badenoch told Sky News sunday morning with trevor phillips Program: “It’s not about the value of children.

“It’s about the government making sure we live within our means. The government’s job is to draw a line where it is responsible.

“Placing the two-child benefit cap on the element of Universal Credit is the responsible place to start.

“It is immoral to burden the next generation and children who have not yet been born with debt so that people alive today can be a little more comfortable.”

Asked whether the Conservatives would reverse scrapping the cap, Ms Badenoch said: “We will put that cap back.

“Somebody has to draw the line somewhere and we are the only party saying this – Labour, Lib Dems, Reform, SNP, Green, plaid – they all want more benefits.

“Only conservatives are saying this is getting out of hand.”

Rachel Reeves has confirmed that she will remain Chancellor for the coming years.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, she said: “Yes, I’m sure, and I’m determined. I was an MP in the opposition for 14 and a half years. I’ve been underestimated all my life.

“As a young girl from an ordinary background, people have made assumptions about me, and I have refuted them before, and I will challenge my critics again. I am proud of my budget this week. I am proud that I am taking money out of energy bills.”

,[I’m] I’m proud that I’m reducing NHS waiting lists, I’m proud that I’m reducing child poverty, and I’m proud that I’ve kept our public finances in sustainable footage of £26 billion.”

The Chancellor responded to personal comments from Kemi Badenoch in which the opposition leader called her the worst chancellor in history.

“I don’t like that kind of stuff. I don’t do it,” Ms Reeves said. “I try to focus on policies rather than personalities. I would just say that Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss’ budget was 100 percent correct,” he said.

“So I’m not entirely sure whether his decision will please the British public or not, but as a politician, I have always tried to focus on the issues, not on personalities. That’s not the kind of politics I do.

“So yes, I was a little uncomfortable hearing that, because it’s not really how I behave, but people you know are entitled to give whatever budget response they want.”