Labour suspends candidate who bet against himself

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will have a different view of the economy by the autumn budget, said Labour leader Nick Thomas-Symonds.

Mr Thomas-Symonds said Labour could “open the books and find that things are even worse than they already are”.

Previously, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) had expressed doubts about the spending plans of both the Labour Party and the Conservatives.

Mr Thomas-Symonds, the shadow minister without portfolio, told Times Radio: “The Government are obviously in a very different position to us because, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies has set out, there are no specific spending plans from individual departments beyond March 2025 and that is because the Government have not carried out a spending review.

“Of course, we cannot do that from the opposition, and we have always been open to the possibility that we could open the books and find that the situation is even worse than it is at the moment. We have never hidden from that.”

Asked whether Labour would need to raise taxes, cut spending or borrow more, Thomas-Symonds said: “We will put this plan on the table for stability, investment and reform. The Office of Budget Responsibility will then look at it to make sure it is solid and the snapshot in the autumn will look different. Then it will be about growth.”

“And that’s why, by the way, we don’t have to make these compromises. We don’t have to get into this vicious loop that the Conservatives are in.”