The Prime Minister gave a speech in central London saying he was proud of the Budget and defending Chancellor Rachel Reeves against accusations she misled the public
Key things you need to know after Keir Starmer’s post Budget speech on Monday
- The Prime Minister insisted there was ‘no misleading’ by Rachel Reeves. The Chancellor has been accused of overstating how bad public finances were before her Budget last week
- Brexit damaged the economy and the UK must be ‘grown up’ in our dealings with the EU, Mr Starmer said. He said the Tory Brexit deal ‘significantly hurt’ the economy and a closer relationship with Europe is important.
- Welfare reform is on the way, he said. And he refused to say whether he was prepared to suspend Labour MPs who rebel – claiming there is a ‘consensus’ on the need to change the current welfare system.
- He said the Budget was a ‘moment of personal pride’ as he told the audience it would help tackle poverty and improve the cost of living. Mr Starmer stated: “ It is a fundamental British belief that every child should go as far as that talent will take them, and poverty is a barrier to that.”
- ‘Too many’ working families are struggling to make ends meet, he said. The PM said parents are telling him they’re working ‘harder and harder’ but finding it more difficult to pay bills.
- He went on the attack, telling his critics that his measures were the right thing to do. He said: “We could have cut public services. We could have ignored child poverty. We could have rolled the dice with extra borrowing. But I firmly believe that those options have been tested to destruction.”
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READ THE FULL STORY: Big takeaways from Keir Starmer speech from Reeves defence to Brexit damage