A cabinet civil war has erupted after senior ministers wrote to Keir Starmer to complain about spending cuts they are being told to implement by chancellor Rachel Reeves.
According to The Times, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood and transport secretary Louise Haigh are among those to have made their unhappiness clear to the PM.
But that has sparked a furious backlash from their cabinet colleagues, with one telling HuffPost UK: “They’re defending the severe Tory legacy.
“There’s not only no money, but we start with minus £22 billion. Overcoming that challenge is not easy.”
The unrest is yet another major headache for Starmer as he and Reeves prepare for the Budget on October 30.
Senior Labour figures have repeatedly claimed the Tories left a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances that must be filled this year.
The chancellor is aiming to raise around £40 billion in the Budget through a combination of tax rises and spending cuts.
It is understood that she has asked for cuts of up to 20% in some departmental budgets.
A No10 source insisted the discussions were a “standard part” of the Budget process.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson clashed with Today programme presenter Amol Rajan on Thursday morning over the cabinet unrest.
Asked if she was one of the ministers who has written to the PM, she replied: “You wouldn’t expect me to be commenting on Budget speculation –”
“It’s not Budget speculation!” Rajan cut in. “Hang on a second, it’s semantics here. Excuse me a second, that’s semantics acrobatics!”
“No no, you’re talking about private conversations,” she insisted.
Rajan hit back: “No no, I’m not talking about private conversations. I want to know whether you can say to our listeners that spending on education will be protected.
“It’s not gossip, it’s not tittle tattle.”
“That wasn’t what you asked,” Phillipson insisted. “What you asked was whether I had chosen to write in that way.
“What I can tell your listeners is that I am determined to deliver a better deal for leaners and young people right across our country. ”