Kemi Badenoch accused the government of "raising taxes to pay for welfare" after Rachel Reeves announced £26bn of tax hikes in her Budget today.

The chancellor Rachel Reeves poses outside 11 Downing Street with her ministerial red box, before delivering her Budget in the House of Commons (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

One of the headline announcements was confirmation that the two-child benefit cap, which previously prevented parents from claiming universal credit or tax credit for their third child, has been lifted.

This means benefits will be increased by an average of £5,310 for 560,000 families, costing the taxpayer an estimated £3bn by 2029-30.

Speaking immediately after the chancellor's announcement, Badenoch accused Reeves of "paying for handouts to keep Labour backbenchers quiet".

If last October's Budget was a Halloween horror show, today's announcement was a "nightmare before Christmas", she said, after the OBR published its official forecast ahead of the Budget due to a "technical error".

The chancellor Rachel Reeves (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

Other significant changes included a freeze on thresholds for income tax and employer National Insurance........

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