Prime Minister prepares taxpayers for painful budget

But he warned that “things are worse than we ever imagined” due to a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances, claiming he learned last week that the Tories had borrowed almost £5bn pounds more than the Office for Budget Responsibility. expected.

Starmer also claimed his government had inherited a “societal black hole” made worse by recent riots and said his decisions to release some prisoners early and test pensioners’ winter fuel allowance were “actions tough” needed to repair the country’s foundations.

He said: “There is a budget coming in October and it will be painful. We have no other choice given the situation we are in.

“Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heaviest burden and that is why we are cracking down on non-doms (UK residents tax domiciled abroad).

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

“But just as when I responded to the riots, I will have to go back to the country and make big demands of you too, to accept the short-term pain for the long-term good, the difficult compromise with the genuine. solution.

“And I know that after all you’ve been through, that’s a very big question and very hard to hear. This 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 doesn’t solve anything.”

Are UK tax rises coming?

The prime minister said he would “not pre-empt the budget” when pressed about what tax rises and spending decisions the government is considering announcing on October 30, although he reiterated his commitment to a “triple lock for workers “.

“We were honest about the situation before the election, we made it very clear what we were going to do with the tax increases,” he said.

“We have made it clear time and time again that National Insurance, VAT and Income Tax will not go up, the triple lock for working people and that remains the position.

“We also determined that our plans were fully funded and fully costed. What I didn’t expect was a £22 billion black hole.”

Starmer added: “I didn’t want to deal with the Pensioners Winter Fuel Allowance… We need to fix the NHS, we need to fix our homes, schools and pensioners rely on them in the same way as everyone else. does, so I won’t pre-empt the budget, but I absolutely won’t accept that the legacy we have is anything but appalling – a £22 billion black hole.”