Sir Keir Starmer has warned his senior ministers they will have to live with swingeing spending cuts after a cabinet row over the Budget erupted in public.
The prime minister is facing a backlash from deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and other members of his top team over cuts to government departments set to be unveiled by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
Sir Keir has received letters raising concerns after a number of his team – including transport minister Louise Haigh and justice minister Shabana Mahmood – spoke out against the measures at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, with one reportedly describing the cuts being sought as “absolutely huge”.
In response, the PM’s official spokesperson warned yesterday: “Not every department will be able to do everything they want to. There will be tough decisions taken [and] tough conversations.” They also said that “public services and departments have to become more productive and public services will need reform”.
Some departments are facing cuts of as much as 20 per cent as Ms Reeves scrambles to find £40bn of spending cuts and tax rises before the 30 October Budget. Yesterday Whitehall’s total budget, known as the “spending envelope”, was submitted to the Office for Budget Responsibility after being finalised by Downing Street. But tense negotiations with individual government departments are still ongoing, as they press for cash from other parts of Whitehall.
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