Starmer Warns of ‘Painful’ Autumn Budget

Sir Keir Starmer has warned of “painful” measures to come in the Autumn Budget in his first major speech since becoming prime minister, saying “things will get worse before they get better.” Speaking in the Rose Garden of Downing Street, Starmer blamed the £22 billion shortfall in the public purse which he said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was not aware of when his Labour Party manifesto was written. Hinting at possible austerity measures to come, the prime minister repeatedly blamed the previous government for the “tough choices” ahead, but would not be drawn on the specifics of how the books might be balanced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, due on Oct. 30....