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The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, has defended Labour’s Budget decisions.

When it was put to him that Labour had frozen tax thresholds and increased welfare spending, Mr Murray insisted it was a budget “which cuts the cost of living, NHS waiting lists, and government borrowing to get debt down” .

Mr Murray said the Office for Budget Responsibility had highlighted “the deep scars which were caused by austerity and the mishandling of Brexit”, adding this had shaped decisions on taxation. He said the government had taken “the right and fair decision” in the Budget.

Budget measures “lift 550,000 children out of poverty”.

– James Murray, Treasury Minister

Channel 4 News suggested the fiscal situation stemmed from Labour “caving in to backbenches on welfare” after

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