WE DIDN’T MISLEAD ANYONE OVER BUDGET – Starmer has insisted he and Rachel Reeves did not mislead anyone over public finances
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he and Rachel Reeves did not mislead anyone over public finances ahead of last week’s tax-raising Budget.
The Prime Minister claimed preparations for a £30bn tax raid started from a productivity gap of £16bn following accusations that the Chancellor lied to the public and misled the markets about the need for higher taxes.
At a press conference in London on Monday, Sir Keir was asked whether Ms Reeves had told the truth by talking about a fiscal black hole that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had reassured her did not exist.
“On the build-up to the Budget, let me just step through that in some detail. Because there was an OBR productivity review. The result of that, was that there was £16bn less than we might have otherwise had. That’s a difficult starting point for any Budget,” he said.
The pound edged lower after a surge in the wake of the Budget.
Sterling was down 0.2pc against the euro at just under €1.14 and was flat against the dollar at $1.324 as traders seemed to take profits from a rally after the Chancellor’s speech.
