RACHEL Reeves and Keir Starmer have been accused by ministers of misleading the Cabinet by claiming there was a “big hole” in public finances to justify breaking their manifesto pledge of not raising taxes.

The chancellor reportedly repeatedly highlighted a downgrade in productivity forecasts in a series of cabinet meetings, leading ministers to believe they had no choice but to raise taxes in the Budget .

According to The Times, a Cabinet meeting was held on November 4, after Reeves signalled in a Downing Street press conference that she was prepared to break Labour’s key manifesto pledge by raising the basic rate of income tax, claiming that the economy had less cash than previously thought.

Reeves reportedly told ministers that the UK economy faced multiple challenges in the form

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