budget
"It will backfire on them," a senior government source said.
The PM's spokesman said departments are going to have to be "more productive".
One cabinet minister told HuffPost UK their colleagues were "defending the severe Tory legacy".
Several of Keir Starmer's top team have allegedly written to the PM to express concerns about the Budget.
No.10 says the last government "covered up" the true state of the nation's finances.
Treasury sources say the colossal sum is needed to prevent a return to austerity.
It's now at the lowest rate in more than three years.
The chancellor attacked the Tories in 2021 for planning to put up employers' National Insurance.
Keir Starmer has refused to deny that a major tax rate will go up in the Budget.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies warning came as the chancellor prepares to deliver the Budget on October 30.