Starmer Defends Tax-Raising Budget Designed to Tackle Child Poverty

Shiva K Dhakal
National Press Corporation(NPC)
United Kingdom—Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended the government’s tax-raising Budget, insisting the measures are essential to reduce child poverty and stabilise the public finances. Speaking a day after Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled her first Budget, Starmer said child poverty was “abhorrent” and that he was “absolutely determined to keep it down”.

The Budget introduces a series of significant tax changes, including new levies on electric vehicles, pension contributions and properties valued above £2m. Millions of workers will also pay more tax as their incomes rise, after Reeves extended the freeze on income tax thresholds until 2031.

Reeves simultaneously announced the end of the two-child benefit cap, describing the Budget as a “balanced plan” aimed at supporting families while addressing long-term economic pressures.

Despite government assurances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that households face what it called a “truly dismal” increase in living standards, forecasting average growth in real spending power of just 0.5% a year over the next five years.

The prime minister, however, defended the government’s broader economic record, saying the UK’s growth prospects remain resilient even after medium-term forecasts were revised down on Wednesday.