Rachel Reeves was clearly agitated when asked by Laura Kuenssberg about Labor’s first budget during a fiery TV showdown this morning.

Stressing the increase in National Insurance (NI) for employers, the BBC presenter asked the Chancellor if she would rethink the decision.

Ms Reeves responded: “I am not immune to their criticism… but we need to raise funds to put our public finances on a solid footing.”

From next April, the 1.2% rise means employers will have to pay NI at 15% on salaries above £5,000, instead of 13.8% on salaries above £9,100 currently.

“Some of our viewers are not only unhappy with the decision you made on national insurance, they are also unhappy with the way you made it,” Kuenssberg said.

The presenter then played a previous clip of the Chancellor and what she said on NI in May when questioned by the BBC.

Ms Reeves clearly stated in the clip from six months ago that she “certainly wouldn’t raise income tax or national insurance if we won the election”.

However, the Chancellor quickly jumped to his defense following the video, saying: “In our manifesto we have been clear. We said we would not increase the main taxes paid by workers. »

Kuenssberg interrupted him by retorting: “I’m sorry, Mr Chancellor, but on this point our viewers, some of them, are very convinced that they have been misled on this point.

“There was a warning in your manifesto, a few lines later…”

Ms. Reeves squirmed in her chair as she hurried to interject on this point.

She replied: “No, no, before, it was before the manifesto commitment.”

The chancellor quickly moved on and said: “I am not immune to people’s concerns about increasing national employers’ insurance.”

NI will be increased by 1.2 percentage points from April 2025.

The Treasury also announced a reduction in the secondary threshold, the level at which employers start paying NI, from £9,100 a year to £5,000, a huge reduction of 45%.

Although Ms. Reeves claims she left “working people” alone in the face of tax hikes, millions of hardworking people will be indirectly affected by the budget.

Forecasts published by the Office for Budget Responsibility predict that real household disposable income is now expected to be £300 lower following the Budget, leaving many ‘working people’ poorer by 2030.