Keir Starmer warns the UK budget this week will reflect 'harsh' economic reality

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says fixing Britain’s troubled economy will be a long haul in a “harsh” fiscal environment. He's setting the stage for his government’s high-stakes first budget later this week. Starmer hopes voters will accept his argument that higher taxes and limited public spending increases are needed to “fix the foundations” of an economy that he says has been undermined by 14 years of Conservative government. But his message that things will only slowly get better is a risky one in a high-speed political world. In a speech on Monday, Starmer said, “it’s time to embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality.” Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is due to deliver the Labour Party government's first budget on Wednesday.