Chancellor Rachel Reeves is rejecting accusations that she misled the public about the state of the UK’s finances ahead of her first Budget, insisting she has been transparent and responsible in her decisions, according to BBC News. In an interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reeves defended her warnings about a downgrade in productivity forecasts, even as it emerged that the Office for Budget Responsibility had privately informed her in mid-September that the public finances were healthier than expected.
Pressed repeatedly on whether her comments painted an unnecessarily bleak picture, Reeves said she did not accept that she had misled anyone, arguing that she had been “upfront” both during the campaign and in the days leading up to the Budget. She maintained that she had significantly less fiscal space than critics suggest, pointing to OBR calculations showing headroom dropping from £9.9 billion in the spring to just £4.2 billion this autumn. Delivering a budget on such narrow margins, she said, would have invited justified criticism.
Reeves argued that her decisions, including expanding welfare support and scrapping the two child benefit cap, were fully funded through taxes on online gambling and tougher enforcement on tax evasion. She denied exaggerating the fiscal outlook to justify the £16 billion rise in welfare spending, saying earlier policy changes already required additional funding.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, appearing after Reeves, dismissed the chancellor’s explanation and accused her of lying to the public to justify tax increases, demanding her resignation. She argued that only welfare spending had been unfunded and accused Reeves of burdening working families. Badenoch also said her shadow chancellor Mel Stride has asked the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate what she described as an attempt to “manipulate the market” by laying political groundwork for the Budget.
Downing Street has rejected the allegations, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to publicly back Reeves’ fiscal strategy.__Photo Courtesy X (Chancellor Rachel Reeves)
