Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt were dubbed the “Chuckle Brothers of decline” as Labour described the Budget as the “last desperate act” of the “failed” Conservatives.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer urged the Prime Minister and Chancellor to confirm they want a May 2 general election after claiming the UK is a “nation in limbo” without a change of government.
In his Budget response, he also accused Mr Sunak of overseeing a “Rishi recession”.
Sir Keir told the Commons: “There we have it – the last desperate act of a party that has failed.
“Britain in recession, the national credit card maxed out, and, despite the measures today, the highest tax burden for 70 years.
“The first Parliament since records began to see living standards fall, confirmed by this Budget today.
“That is their record, it is still their record – give with one hand and take even more with the other – and nothing they do between now and the election will change that.”
He added: “The Chancellor, who breezes into this chamber in a recession and tells the working people of this country that everything’s on track. Crisis? What crisis? Or as the captain of the Titanic and the former prime minister herself might have said ‘Iceberg? What iceberg?’
“Smiling as the ship goes down, the Chuckle Brothers of decline, dreaming of Santa Monica or maybe just a quiet life in Surrey, not having to self-fund his election.”
Sir Keir welcomed moves to scrap the non-dom status for wealthy foreigners following campaigning by Labour, adding to Tory MPs: “For those opposite, now a little downbeat about another intellectual triumph for social democracy, I say ‘Get used to it’, because with this pair in charge it won’t be long before they ask you to defend the removal of private school tax relief as well.”
He described Mr Hunt’s tax cuts as a “Tory con” and said the public will be subject to a “Tory stealth tax” through council tax increases.
Labour welcomed the cut to national insurance, but claimed Mr Sunak has broken a promise to cut income tax.
Sir Keir said: “I noticed this in 2022, when the Prime Minister was chancellor, he made this promise: ‘I can confirm in 2024 for the first time the basic rate of income tax will be cut from 20 to 19 pence’.
“Having briefed that all week, that an income tax cut was coming, that promise is in tatters today.”
Sir Keir later accused the Government of “ducking their responsibility” to the victims of the infected blood and Horizon scandals, saying: “One of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history – those were the Prime Minister’s words just two months ago – today justice kicked beyond the general election.”
The Labour leader said there is “no way to a calmer, less chaotic politics” with the Conservatives in power, adding: “Chaos is now their world view, a mindset that sees Britain’s problems as opportunities they can exploit.”
Sir Keir went on: “Britain deserves a government ready to take tough decisions, give our public services an immediate cash injection, stick to fiscal rules without complaint, fight for the living standards of working people and deliver a sustainable plan for growth.
“So we say to the Chancellor and Prime Minister, it’s time to break the habit of 14 years. Stop the dithering, stop the delay and stop the uncertainty and confirm May 2 as the date of the next general election because Britain deserves better and Labour are ready.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey also called for an immediate election, describing the Budget as “one last roll of the dice in a desperate attempt to cling onto power”.
This Budget offers no relief for the widespread pain under the Conservative government, from Rishi's recession to Hunt's hangover. A last-ditch effort by a government neglecting the NHS, wrecking the economy, and reducing living standards. Time for a general election.
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) March 6, 2024
He added: “I think people have already made up their minds. So the Government must do the right thing: call a general election right now before they do even more damage to our wonderful country.”
Sir Ed had earlier said: “Never before have I seen a Government deliver weaker public services, higher taxes, and zero growth all at the same time and all in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
“I fear that by designing his economic policy to give a short-term sugar rush to Conservative backbenchers, the Chancellor is condemning millions of families to high mortgage rates for much, much longer.”