No 10 dismisses claim that OBR revelations show Reeves misled public about need for tax rises in budget – UK politics live

Downing Street brushes off claims that the chancellor misled voters about the state of the public finances ahead of the budgetThe Office for Budget Responsibility has said that Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was not at risk of breaking her fiscal rules because of its productivity forecast downgrade.In a highly unusual move, Richard Hughes, chair of the OBR, has sent a letter to the Commons Treasury committee, giving details of the five assessments it sent to the Treasury ahead of the budget estimating whether or not the fiscal rules would be met.Before any policy measures, Rachel Reeves was forecast to be running a small current budget surplus in her key year of 2029–30 and therefore meeting her fiscal rules. No fiscal repair job needed. Even after accounting for the U-turns on winter fuel payments and disability benefits since the spring, she was running only a very small deficit. Continue reading…