Starmer to defend Reeves after claims that some ministers feel she misled them ahead of budget – UK politics live | Politics

Good morning. There was a theory at Westminster about budgets that if they were received well on the day they would tend to go wrong later, but those that were widely criticized at the time turned out to be the good ones. However, this doesn’t really help Rachel Reeves’ budget because the reactions have been quite mixed. It was hugely popular with Labor MPs and bond markets, two key target audiences for the Treasury that day. However, most of the public believes this is unfair, and this has caused Reeves’ already very low approval rating among voters to drop even further.

And that was before a major debate arose over whether Reeves misled voters about the size of the “black hole” in the national finances.

All this means that when Keir Starmer makes a speech defending the budget today, he will have to respond to Tory claims that he should be sacked for lying; This is not the best ground for a Prime Minister trying to sell a budget to the public.

Starmer gave some of what he had to say in an article he wrote for the Guardian and Kiran Stacey We wrote about this in our splash story here.

Judging by his article, Starmer will try to recalibrate his budget message in part by addressing two criticisms leveled at him last week. First, it was noted that Reeves said little about stimulating growth; Despite this, this growth was considered the government’s top priority. Today Starmer will highlight his commitment to deregulation as a pro-growth initiative.

Second, Reeves has been criticized for increasing welfare spending without combining it with welfare reform announcements. Today, without giving details, star player He will insist that his commitment to welfare reform is strong. Referring to the need to stop young people being stuck on sickness or disability benefits, he will say:

We need to face the fact that our welfare state traps people not only in poverty but also in unemployment. Especially young people. This is poverty of ambition. And in the meantime, we will invest in apprenticeships and ensure that every young person without a job receives a guaranteed training or job offer.

We must also reform the welfare state itself; This is what renewal requires. Now this is not about supporting a broken status quo.

No, it’s about potential. Because if you are ignored this early in your career. If you don’t get the support you need to overcome your mental health issues, or are written off because of neurodivergence or disability, it can trap you in a decades-long cycle of unemployment and addiction.

This makes the country lose money, harms our productivity, but most importantly, it harms the country’s opportunities and potential.

This is an excerpt from the speech No 10 previously published.

But without details, Starmer will not stop the media from asking about claims that the Treasury’s pre-budget messaging was misleading. Accordingly A story in the TimesSome ministers even say this privately. This quote is included in the Times’ report.

a cabinet minister He said: “Why did Keir and Rachel allow the country to believe for so long that we would defeat our manifesto by raising income tax to 2p when they knew it wasn’t true?

“Cabinet was never briefed on the reality of the OBR forecasts. If we had been told, we might have advised against running rabbits on income tax and giving the public the impression that we were complacent about our manifesto commitments. The handling of this budget has been a disaster from start to finish.”

Darren JonesThe Cabinet Office minister and the Prime Minister’s principal secretary defend the chancellor in interviews this morning. His line was the same as Reeves’ line yesterday; He said he wasn’t misleading anyone about the black hole because the Treasury still had to raise taxes to create a suitable gap, even though it hadn’t told the public that the problems resulting from the decline in productivity (which Reeves mentioned) were offset by higher-than-expected tax revenues (which he didn’t talk about). Reeves and Jones said the surplus announced by the OBR on Friday would not be enough.

Here is the agenda of the day.

10am: Kemi Badenoch speaks at a Q&A in London. The event, hosted by broadcaster Liam Halligan, is also attended by shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith.

10.30: Keir Starmer gives a speech on the budget in London.

13.30: Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, is giving evidence to the House of Commons home affairs committee about the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a Europa League match in Birmingham. At 2.30pm Craig Guildford chief constable of West Midlands Police, assistant chief constable Mike O’Hara of WMP and Simon Foster, West Midlands police and crime commissioner; and 15:30 Police minister Sarah Jones gives evidence.

14.30: Education Minister Bridget Phillipson answers questions in the House of Commons.

After 15.30: A minister may need to answer an urgent question about the OBR’s statement on pre-budget estimates to the Treasury.

15.45: A lobby briefing is being held in Downing Street.

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