Keir Starmer has doubled down on his warning that Rachel Reeves’s budget at the end of October is “going to be tough” amid a series of sombre announcements. The Labour Party has already faced criticism over the slashing of the Winter Fuel Payment by restricting it to pensioners on pension credit. Reeves has said that next month’s Budget will involve “difficult decisions” on tax, spending and welfare. Critics have slammed a possible cap on Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), tax hikes on beer, wine and spirits and a council tax reform. However, the Prime Minister has hit back at denunciation after discov…