Reeves accused of balancing books at expense of the poor

Welfare cuts will leave 3m households worse off, official figures show Any US tariffs could force more tax rises in autumn, OBR warns

- Heather Stewart Pippa Crerar

Rachel Reeves was accused of balancing the books at the expense of the poor in her spring statement yesterday as official figures showed that 3m households could lose £1,720 a year in benefits.

The chancellor confirmed welfare cuts of £4.8bn but insisted the government's priority was to restore stability to the public finances in the face of rising global borrowing costs.

Economists said Reeves could be forced to come back with more tax rises in the autumn, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) saying that any tariffs imposed by Donald Trump may upend their forecasts.

Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, said there would now be "six or seven months of speculation about what taxes might or might not be increased in the autumn", adding: "There is a cost, both economic and political, to that uncertainty."

Ministers are bracing themselves for a backbench rebellion against the benefit cuts, which are expected to be put to a vote in May, with speculation that up to three dozen MPs could refuse to support the government, with possible frontbench resignations. However, with a huge Labour majority, the proposals are expected to get through.

Impact assessments of the welfare changes, published alongside the spring statement, reflected the toll of an extra £500m in last-minute savings forced on the government. They showed an additional 250,000 people being pushed into relative poverty as a result of the cuts to personal independence payment (Pip) and incapacity benefit.

Paul Kissack, group chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, accused the chancellor of "putting the burden of the changing world on the shoulders of those least able to bear the load", adding: "The government needs to protect people from harm with the same zeal as it attempts to build its reputation for fiscal competence."