Labour Vows to Hand Power to OBR to Deter Repeat of ‘Disastrous’ Mini-Budget

Shadow chancellor said Treasury won’t be able change fiscal policy without oversight, but Liz Truss said it ‘beggars belief’ Labour thinks bureaucracy can help.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves during a visit to the London Stock Exchange Group on Sept. 22, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA

Labour has said it plans to give more power to the budget watchdog so the “mini-budget” blunder last year will never happen again.

Speaking at the London Stock Exchange alongside shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves on Friday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer blamed former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s government for causing “huge damage” with her so-called mini-budget and sought to assure voters that Labour can bring back “stability” to the UK’s fiscal policy if it gets the key to the public purse.