The support for the PM seems to be directly conflicting with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which stated it informed the Chancellor as early as October 31 that there was no longer a deficit in the public finances.
However, just a few days later, Ms. Reeves delivered a speech at Downing Street on November 4, stating she needed to increase taxes to fill a gap in the nation’s finances.
During a series of media interviews this morning (Sunday), Ms. Reeves defended her management of the Budget after opposition figures accused her of misleading the public regarding the magnitude of the fiscal “repair job” she is dealing with. Speaking to Sky News, the Chancellor asserted that she “of course” did not deceive the public when she painted a bleak economic picture at the start of November.
Discussing the rift with the OBR, Ms. Reeves told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the OBR’s investigation into the leak of its economic forecasts ahead of the Budget is expected to report to her on Monday. She added: “We will get a report tomorrow, the report that looks at what happened about that Budget leak. It was clearly serious. It was clearly a serious breach of the protocol, but I’ll see that report tomorrow.”
Rachel Reeves has been criticized for a "missed opportunity" to generate £900 million in revenue from online casinos
She also mentioned that she had “a huge amount of respect” for the OBR and its chairman, Richard Hughes, but refrained from supporting him to remain in his position.
However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch placed the blame squarely on the Chancellor today (Sunday), appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
She stated that Ms. Reeves was “raising taxes to pay for welfare” within the Budget and “should resign,” adding: “I don’t care whether people misbehave at the despatch box. What I care about is whether or not I’m doing a good job. She should care about whether or not she’s doing a good job - she’s doing a terrible job.”
Previously, Ms. Badenoch had indicated that the revelation from the OBR showed Ms. Reeves had “lied to the public” and should be dismissed.
Speaking to the Telegraph, a Labour backbencher said: “We’re managing decline where people are crying out for real change. This is the worst Labour Government in recorded history. The Chancellor is in deep trouble.”
Another added that it was “hard to see how they come back from it” when referring to the political stance of both Sir Keir and Ms. Reeves.
The coming days will be crucial for the Chancellor after details of her November 26 Budget were unintentionally released to the public nearly an hour early when official forecasts from the OBR were uploaded to the watchdog’s website. The OBR apologised for the leak and promptly launched an investigation, with expert input from Professor Ciaran Martin, former head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Despite Professor Martin’s involvement, the OBR has stated there is no reason to suspect a cyber attack.
Last week, OBR Chairman Mr. Hughes said he had been “mortified” by the leak and mentioned at an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation that he would resign if he lost the confidence of the Chancellor and the Commons Treasury Committee.
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