The Prime Minister on Monday defended the “tough” tax rises coming in the Budget as he vowed to get more people into work.
Sir Keir Starmer said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Statement on Wednesday will seek to get Britain out of a “pay more get less doom loop”.
He said “no one wants higher taxes, but we have to be realistic” and his government will “ignore the populist chorus of easy answers”.
The Chancellor will announce £240million in funding for services to get people back into work in the Budget, Sir Keir added.
In a speech in Birmingham, he said: "Rebuilding Britain and delivering growth will take the skills and effort of all of us.
"That's why this Budget will also get Britain working.
“It will pave the way for reforms that tackle the root causes for economic inactivity and make sure that those who can work do work.
"As a Labour Government, we will always help those who cannot support themselves, but the UK is the only G7 country for whom inactivity is still higher than it was before Covid.
"And that's not just bad for our economy, it's also bad for all those who are locked out of opportunity.
"So the Chancellor will announce £240 million in funding to provide local services that can help people back into work."
The PM promised to “protect” working people from tax rises, but conceded that Britons would see price increases as a result of measures announced in the Budget.
A £2 bus fare cap on services outside of London will be replaced by a new £3 cap until the end of 2025, Sir Keir confirmed.
He said he knows "how much this matters", particularly to people who live in rural communities but the £2 scheme was only funded “until the end of 2024” by the previous government.
Defending the coming tax increases on businesses he added that “better days are ahead".
The Government is under fire over its expected hike in National Insurance for employers which could raise as much as £20billion a year.
Conservatives and the Institute for Fiscal Studies say such a increases would break Labour’s manifesto and it is being criticised as a “tax on jobs” just as the Government pledges to make boosting economic growth its priority.
"Borrowing will drive long-term growth,” Sir Keir said.
“Tax rises will prevent austerity and rebuild public services. We choose to protect working people. We choose to get the NHS back on its feet. We choose to fix the foundations, reject decline and rebuild our country with investment."
He added: "The time is long overdue for politicians in this country to level with you honestly about the trade-offs this country faces, to stop insulting your intelligence with the chicanery of easy answers.
"Working people know that hard choices are necessary. They lived through the Liz Truss episode. They lived through the cost-of-living crisis.
"So they know that the things they want from us - protecting their living standards, building our nation, fixing our public services - they know that this can only be achieved alongside economic stability.
"There are no short cuts."
