Rishi Sunak has accused Rachel Reeves of delivering a Budget with “one broken promise after another”, adding: “Working people will pay the price.”
The outgoing Conservative leader has claimed that Chancellor Mrs Reeves has decided to ‘let the borrowing rip’ and has tried to ‘cover up that splurge by fiddling with the budget rules’.
Mr Sunak added that “never in the history of our country will taxes be higher than under this Labor government” as a result of the budget.
He also accused Ms Reeves and his successor as prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, of “damaging the British economy for political purposes” through their rhetoric and claimed it was “nonsense” to suggest Labor had inherited difficult circumstances.
Ms Reeves said she is taking steps to plug the “black hole” in public finances left by the Tories, while pumping billions into schools and hospitals.
Her plans include increasing employer national insurance contributions and increasing capital gains tax, while also introducing changes to inheritance tax and stamp duty.
In his final speech at the post box, Mr Sunak told Ms Reeves in the House of Commons: “Labour’s claims about their legacy are purely ridiculous. These are her choices. So stop blaming others and take responsibility.”
He added: “Her decision to let the loans dry up completely nonsense her claims about the state of public finances, because if they were really in such a dire situation, as she has said, we would have had a significant impact today must see. reducing loans to fix them, not the splurge that just unleashed them.
Mr Sunak said post-Budget borrowings and debt would be higher in each year of the forecast.
The former chancellor said: “Now she has tried to cover up that excess by fiddling with the budget rules.”
Mr Sunak said the Conservatives had repeatedly warned during the general election that Sir Keir and Ms Reeves were “not telling the truth” when they ruled out “tax surprises”.
He said: “Today the Chancellor and Prime Minister have done what they always set out to do, but they chose to remain hidden from the British people.
“Rather than cutting taxes, as a result of the current budget, taxes will never be higher in the history of our country than under this Labor government.”
Mr Sunak further claimed that Labor would tax people’s jobs, businesses, homes and savings, adding: “You name it, they will tax it and that is exactly what they have done.”
In his final remarks, Mr Sunak said: “The Prime Minister has spoken relentlessly about trust, but today’s Budget above all shows that the Labor Party has not told the truth.
‘They said they wouldn’t mess with the numbers, and they did. They said they wouldn’t increase the loans, they did. They said they wouldn’t raise taxes on working people, and they did.
“Broken promise after broken promise and it is the working people of this country who will pay the price.”
Labor MPs said goodbye to Mr Sunak after he completed his final comments from the letterbox before stepping down as Tory leader.