Rachel Reeves breaks silence on Budget ‘lies’ as Cabinet threaten revolt: ‘Disaster!
Keir Starmer defends Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget
Rachel Reeves has responded to claims that she misled Cabinet ministers about the Budget. The Chancellor is at the centre of a row over claims she exaggerated the state of the public finances ahead of last week’s statement.
Members of Sir Keir Starmer’s top team have accused him and Ms Reeves of misleading the Cabinet by claiming there was a hole in the public finances to justify tax rises. Speaking to BBC Wales at the Wales Investment Summit, the Chancellor said: “You would never expect the Prime Minister and Chancellor to go through all the detailed numbers.
Rachel Reeves has been accused of misleading the Cabinet (Image: PA)
“The Cabinet are briefed on the morning of the Budget on the Budget numbers.
“Of course, we go through things that affect individual government departments, but the whole information of the Budget is not supposed to be provided until the Chancellor delivers the Budget.
She said an Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast showing a £4.2 billion surplus against her borrowing rules did not take into account the welfare reform U-turn or the abolition of the two-child benefit cap.
An unnamed Cabinet minister described the handling of the Budget as “a disaster from start to finish”.
They told The Times: “At no point were the Cabinet told about the reality of the OBR forecasts.”
