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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Larry Elliott Economics editor

Reeves can point to ONS public finances report as cover for a harsh budget

Office for National Statistics Rachel Reeves Jeremy Hunt OBR
Reeves at a podium with a label on it reading 'fixing the foundations'
Reeves has been saying since arriving at the Treasury last month that the government has been spending and borrowing a lot more than expected. Photograph: Lucy North/Reuters

If Rachel Reeves was looking for political cover for what is being billed as a budget of eye-watering severity, then the latest set of figures for the UK’s public finances certainly provided it.

The chancellor has been saying since arriving at the Treasury last month that the government has been spending and borrowing a lot more than expected – and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has duly obliged with evidence to back up her case.

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