Sat, 29 Nov 2025

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 No 10 denies Reeves misled public in run-up to Budget

The Conservatives say she was overly gloomy about the public finances as a "smokescreen" to raise tax.

* Downing Street has denied that Rachel Reeves misled the public about the state of the UK's public finances ahead of this week's Budget.
* An Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) letter revealed a forecast of higher wages, which would help meet the spending rules, was not mentioned by Reeves.
* The Conservatives have accused Reeves of giving an overly pessimistic impression of the public finances as a "smokescreen" to raise taxes.
* Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Reeves had "lied to the public" and should be sacked.
* OBR chairman Richard Hughes revealed that on 17 September, he told the chancellor that the public finances were in better shape than widely thought.
* Reeves used a pre-Budget speech in Downing Street to warn of weaker productivity, but the OBR confirmed that higher wages would offset this, leaving a surplus to meet fiscal rules.
* A Treasury spokesperson said the Chancellor made her choices to cut the cost of living and debt.
* Reeves continued to indicate she might increase income tax rates before backing away from the plan in her Budget.
* The Budget still contained £26bn of tax rises.
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