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Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer defends Rachel Reeves after she has come under heavy criticism following last week’s Budget.
The chancellor has been accused of misleading the public by lying about economic forecasts she had received in order to justify her £26bn worth of tax hikes.
Speaking on Monday (1 December), Sir Keir will contend that Ms Reeves has provided stability by raising billions of pounds to build more “headroom” in the economy.
It has emerged that before her speech, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) told her that the public’s finances had significantly improved and that, instead of a deficit, she had a surplus of £4.2bn.
Ms Reeves has denied that she has lied to the public and the markets.
The prime minister is also expected to discuss welfare reform, claiming that the welfare state is “trapping people, not just in poverty, but out of work”.
He will say that “incentives” which stop young people working must be scrapped as they are costing the country millions and undermining productivity.
“We must reform the welfare state itself – that is what renewal demands,” Sir Keir will say. “Now, this is not about propping up a broken status quo. No, this is about potential.”
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