Rishi Sunak warns a Labour would cut public services to balance books

A Labour government will have to cut public services to balance the books because it won't try to bring down the soaring benefits bill, Rishi Sunak has suggested.

The Prime Minister said the Conservatives will save taxpayers £12 billion a year through welfare reforms aimed at getting millions back to work.

But he said Sir Keir Starmer's party did not plan to save a penny from the system – predicted to cost £90 billion a year by the end of the decade – and so will have to make savings elsewhere instead.

The Prime Minister said the Conservatives will save taxpayers £12 billion a year through welfare reforms. (Pictured, Rishi Sunak at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Buergenstock Resort in Switzerland)

Mr Sunak said Sir Keir Starmer 's party did not plan to save a penny from the system. (Pictured, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer arrive to the House of Commons Members' Lobby during the State Opening of Parliament)

It comes after the Institute for Fiscal Studies said areas such as local government and justice could face budget cuts of 3.5 per cent a year under spending plans that protect the NHS and defence, and accused both main parties of a 'conspiracy of silence' about where the axe will fall.

Mr Sunak said: 'The very clear difference in savings between us and the Labour Party is, I think you can make savings from constraining the growth in the welfare bill, the Labour Party do not think that you can save a penny in the welfare bill.'

A Labour spokesman said: 'This is the latest desperate announcement from Rishi Sunak, who has once again plucked numbers out of thin air in an attempt to disguise the fact that he has caused a spiralling benefits bill.'

Read more