Rachel Reeves latest: Starmer to back chancellor as she faces growing pressure over Budget black hole row

Rachel Reeves will be on the morning round of political shows today.

He will appear Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from approximately 8.30am and Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg from 9am.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch will also appear in Sunday’s programmes.

Families on modest incomes could be £18,000 worse off than unemployed parents claiming benefits after Rachel Reeves scrapped the two-child limit in the Budget. Telegram reported.

A family with three children with at least one parent claiming average Universal Credit (UC) rates along with other benefits will receive up to £46,000 by next year, according to the Center for Social Justice (CSJ).

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, chairman of the CSJ and former leader of the Conservative party, said: “It is critical to get welfare spending under control. We must ensure that work pays off, and this Government will ensure that work does not pay off as it loses control of a ballooning welfare budget.”

Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride reportedly wrote to the FCA, urging it to examine “possible market abuses” resulting from “misleading” comments and “repeated disclosure of market-sensitive details of Budget decisions and official forecasts”.

Stephen Flynn, the Scottish National Party leader at Westminster, also called on the City watchdog to “immediately launch an investigation into accusations of false and highly misleading Budget briefings”, questioning whether Ms Reeves’ November 4 speech amounted to “market manipulation”.

Sir Keir Starmer reportedly knows there is no black hole in the public finances after critics said Rachel Reeves misled the public about the need for a tax increase in the budget.

Downing Street confirmed the Prime Minister was pleased with Ms Reeves’ speech, according to The Telegraph.

This was despite Sir Keir being informed that official forecasts showed his fiscal rules would be met and that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s productivity rating did not lead to a deficit in the public finances.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to shift the agenda away from criticism of Rachel Reeves by returning to long-term growth plans on Monday. He will praise the budget for providing “economic stability” and claim that “economic growth has exceeded forecasts” The Times.

The Prime Minister will vow to scrap “misguided” regulations and root out unforeseen costs “in every corner of the economy”, warning that “excessive” bureaucracy is piling costs on big projects such as power stations, which ultimately leads to higher consumer bills.

Sir Keir Starmer will support Budget as he admits Government must go “further and faster” on growth as Downing Street rejects Rachel’s claims reeves misled voters as “categorically false” about the extent of the financial challenge.

The chancellor will face fresh media scrutiny on Sunday for what he has told the public and markets about the state of the economy.

Downing Street rallied around Ms Reeves and a source said: “No 10 was aware of the content of the speech, which we believe completely accurately outlines the need to raise revenues.

“The idea that there is a misleading notion of the need to raise significant revenue as a result of the OBR figures, including the productivity decline they contain, is simply untrue.”

Rachel Reeves has been accused of misleading the public about the country’s finances to justify a £26bn tax increase in her Budget.

There were dire warnings that the Chancellor was facing a £20bn black hole, and in his extraordinary speech on November 4 he signaled that higher taxes were likely and blamed Donald Trump’s tariff war and the Budget watchdog’s expected fall in economic productivity for the “tough choices” he would have to make.

But it emerged Ms Reeves’ comments came just days after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) told her the economic picture had improved significantly, with a surplus of £4.2bn instead of a deficit.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the sacking of the chancellor, whose budget is seen as a make-or-break for his political future, saying he “lied to the public to justify record tax rises” and “bribed Labor MPs to save his own life”.

Our Whitehall correspondent Kate Devlin reported on Friday:

Welcome to our politics blog. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under significant pressure on Sunday as she prepares for a media spat over a row over her budget on Wednesday.

The Financial Conduct Authority is facing calls to investigate whether the Treasury misled the public about the extent of the financial repair job facing Rachel Reeves ahead of this week’s Budget.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has called on the watchdog to examine claims that “deliberately false and misleading” briefings were given about a £20bn black hole in the public finances.

Conservative Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride also called for an investigation into “potential market abuse”. Times reported.

The letters come amid a growing row over pre-Budget speculation that the Chancellor faces a significant gap in spending plans, partly due to a drop in productivity forecasts.

Stay with us for the latest developments.