Rachel Reeves’s Budget put Britain on course for a record tax burden as she hiked levies by £26 billion after weaker economic forecasts left holes in her previous spending plans.
The Prime Minister argued that his Government had “done the least possible we can” to impact people and had “done it in a fair way”.
The increases are also needed to pay for increased welfare spending, with the abolition of the two-child benefit cap costing £3 billion a year by 2029/30.
Sir Keir said he was “not going to apologise” for taking 450,000 children out of poverty, as he hit back at claims the measure was announced to appease restive Labour MPs.
Asked whether he was axing the two-child limit for universal credit to shore up his own position, he told Sky News: “It’s impossible to argue that this is a position that has been adopted just in the last few weeks. It is my long-standing ambition.
I’m proud to be the Prime Minister who has done more on child poverty than any prime minister ever.
He also pointed to the “massive impact” the “abhorrent” Tory policy had had on the health of hundreds of thousands of children.
Sir Keir Starmer has said that the Budget “asked everybody to make a contribution” in order to protect public services and help people struggling with the cost of living.