"Painful" days ahead, Prime Minister warns in pre-Budget speech

Speaking ahead of Parliament being reconvened next week, Sir Keir Starmer warned that the country will be asked to “accept short-term pain for long-term good.”

Less than two months from leading Labour to a seismic electoral victory, Sir Keir has already announced plans to means-test the Winter Fuel Allowance awarded to pensioners, sparking disquiet in his own party.

And during a speech in Downing Street’s rose garden, he said there was a “£22bn black hole in the public finances” - and claimed the previous Conservative Government had borrowed almost £5 billion more than the Office for Budget Responsibility expected.

Sir Keir refused to rule out tax rises in the Budget, the first to be delivered by his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves and due on October 30.

The Prime Minister struck a sombre tone as he delivered his speech from behind a podium which said ‘Fixing The Foundations’.

He said: “There is a Budget coming in October, and it’s going to be painful. We have no other choice, given the situation that we’re in.

“Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden, and that’s why we’re cracking down on non-doms.

“Those who made the mess should have to do their bit to clean it up – that’s why we’re strengthening the powers of the water regulator and backing tough fines on the water companies that let sewage flood our rivers, lakes and seas.

“But, just as when I responded to the riots, I’ll have to turn to the country and make big asks of you as well, to accept short-term pain for long-term good, the difficult trade-off for the genuine solution.

“And I know that, after all that you have been through, that is a really big ask and really difficult to hear. That is not the position we should be in. It’s not the position I want to be in, but we have to end the politics of the easy answer – that solves nothing.”

The Prime Minister said he was “not going to pre-empt the Budget” when pressed on what tax rises and spending decisions the Government is considering to announce on October 30, although he reiterated his pledge on the “triple lock for working people”.

One Yorkshire MP has already warned Sir Keir against making further cuts for working people.

Rachael Maskell, York Central MP, said: “The bleakest economic decisions are taken by households who have to prioritise how they will afford their rent, utilities, food and other living costs. In a country with so much wealth we need to redistribute money to ensure that all can remain warm and well this winter.

“The Government needs to rethink the Winter Fuel Payment decision, or find an alternative, like a social tariff for energy, so no-one goes without.”

There was also discomfort expressed by Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the country’s biggest union.

She said: “We need change, not cuts. Austerity mark two is not the answer to the UK’s problems.

"A bleak vision of Britain is not what we need now. It is time to see the change that Labour promised.

“The money is there. It’s time for a wealth tax on the super rich and a tax on excess profits.

"We should not pit pensioners against workers, that is not a choice that should be on the table.”

The Conservatives repeatedly claimed Sir Keir would raise taxes during the election campaign, and Rishi Sunak posted on X: “Keir Starmer’s speech today was the clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along – raise your taxes.”