Reeves says she didn't lie to the public about the UK's finances before the Budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves strongly denied charges that she misled to the British public before the November 2025 Budget on Sunday.She said she had been "honest and frank" about the necessity for tax increases and the health of the public finances.The independent fiscal watchdog Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that a drop in productivity projections, which Reeves had used as a reason for raising taxes, was mostly made up for by rising inflation and wage-driven revenues, resulting in a surplus instead of a shortfall. The Chancellor, however, stood by her claim that she had accurately reflected the risks to the public finances and stressed the need to build a larger fiscal buffer. Reeves said that without the £26 billion in tax hikes, public spending and investment would have been in danger. He framed the Budget as a vital measure to protect services and the economy's ability to bounce back.

She and the government have also defended the choice by saying that unpredictable global economic pressures and the long-term effects of uncertainty about productivity made a cautious, prudent fiscal approach necessary. They argued that the earlier "black-hole" warnings were not dishonest exaggerations but a sign of real uncertainty at the time. Spokespeople for Downing Street agreed with her explanation, saying it was "categorically untrue" to say that there had been deliberate misleading. They also stressed that the Budget's tax increases and other fiscal measures are still necessary to meet long-term fiscal rules and fulfill commitments to infrastructure, welfare, and public services.