"She said her Budget, due to be delivered on Wednesday and coming after weeks of speculation about tax rises, would make "difficult choices". Labour MPs would like 90-95% of her spending plan, she said but added: "It's a package, not a pick-and-mix. You can't say you like the cola bottles but you don't like the fruit salad." "It all comes together and hangs together as a whole.""
"Following the meeting, one Labour MP said the chancellor had been "strong and honest" but another said her pleas for unity had sounded "desperate". In the year since the last Budget, Labour MPs have become increasingly critical of Reeves' judgement. The Chancellor has been forced to make U-turns on some policies, including cutting the winter fuel payment."
"There had also been concerns in the party about suggestions she would use this Budget to raise income tax rates, a move that would have broken the party's election manifesto promise. The government now appears to have stepped back from that proposal."
Rachel Reeves urged Labour MPs to unite behind her Budget and vowed to remain chancellor in the years ahead. She warned MPs they must stick together if they want to win the next election and said the Budget, due on Wednesday after weeks of tax speculation, would involve difficult choices. She said MPs would accept most of her spending plan but that it worked as a single package rather than pick-and-mix. Reactions were mixed, with praise and criticism, amid past U-turns and concerns about potential income tax rises which now appear dropped.
Read at www.bbc.com
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