Keir Starmer has doubled down on his warning that Rachel Reeves’s budget at the end of October is “going to be tough” amid a series of sombre announcements.
The Labour Party has already faced criticism over the slashing of the Winter Fuel Payment by restricting it to pensioners on pension credit.
Reeves has said that next month’s Budget will involve “difficult decisions” on tax, spending and welfare.
Critics have slammed a possible cap on Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), tax hikes on beer, wine and spirits and a council tax reform.
Keir Starmer previously warned that his party’s first Budget ‘is going to be painful’PAHowever, the Prime Minister has hit back at denunciation after discovering £22billion of unfunded spending.
“We’ve got £22billion to find and there are no easy decisions when you’ve got £22billion to find… We couldn’t pretend it’s not there… That means really difficult decisions,” he told The Observer.
As the Labour conference kicks off in Liverpool, trade unions and party activists are expected to oppose the cuts.
However, Starmer has pledged to defend public services from further austerity and protect working people from tax rises.
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During his latest interview, he stressed that public services were already severely underfunded and could not endure further cuts while still meeting the needs of the public.
The Labour leader said: “I’m acutely aware that our public services are on their knees, and there will always be some that say there’s an argument for deep cuts … I ran a public service.
“I know what cuts feel like. And I know that a lot of them are cut to the bone. And therefore we have got to make sure that our public services are functioning properly.”
He added that working people will be protected from tax increases.
Rachel Reeves has said that next month’s Budget will involve ‘difficult decisions’ on tax, spending and welfare
PA
“People have had a lot of tax rises and there’s not much more room for tax rises. That’s why I made the commitment in relation to working people,” he said.
Starmer’s personal approval ratings have significantly dropped to their lowest-ever – below former Tory leader Rishi Sunak.
Since July, his ratings are down a huge 45 points.