Rachel Reeves will be forced into delivering a “relaunch Budget” after the chaos of Labour’s first three months in office, George Osborne has said.
The Chancellor has warned she will have to make “difficult decisions” which are expected to include tax rises and spending cuts at her first fiscal event on Oct 30.
Mr Osborne, the Tory chancellor between 2010 and 2016, said Ms Reeves must now also attempt to reverse the Government’s political fortunes in her Budget.
A series of rows have dogged Sir Keir Starmer’s administration since it took office in July, including over cuts to the winter fuel allowance and donations accepted by Sir Keir and his team.
Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, which he hosts with Ed Balls, his former Labour opposite number, Mr Osborne said: “This Budget was supposed to be the five-year plan for the Starmer government and some tough decisions early on that would reap benefits later, politically and economically.
“The truth is it’s becoming increasingly a relaunch budget. The Government is in such trouble politically, because of all the things we’ve been talking about.
“There’s a poll out this week that says [the Government] is now more unpopular with the British people than the Sunak government it replaced.
“So this Budget now can’t just be about the long term. It’s got to be about the short term. It’s got to be about getting the government back on track.”
Mr Osborne added that if he were in the Prime Minister’s position, his focus would be on getting the Government “out of this hole” and delivering “some goodies on the day”.
The Telegraph reported a survey by More in Common earlier this week which showed voters now narrowly prefer Rishi Sunak’s government to that of Sir Keir.
It came as a poll by YouGov conducted on Thursday showed four in five (79 per cent) believe Sir Keir was right to pay back more than £6,000 he has received in gifts and hospitality since entering Downing Street.
He decided to cover the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four Doncaster racecourse tickets and clothing loaned to his wife that were all about to have been made public.
But the Tories noted that other cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, Sir Keir’s deputy, and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, have so far refused to do the same for hospitality they have enjoyed while they have been in government.
