Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has mocked the Budget as delivering "4p off gherkins" and claimed the UK pays a higher rate of interest on its debt than Greece, Latvia, Slovakia and Vietnam. LBC reports the remarks from her Commons reply to the Chancellor, John Healey, on Wednesday 28 October.
"The Prime Minister came in promising to reverse 40 years of neoliberalism. Instead, we got 4p off gherkins."
On the cost of government borrowing, she told MPs: "The rate of interest we pay on our debts is higher than Greece, Latvia, Slovakia, even the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." That claim has not been independently checked.
She also said: "This Budget does not come close to meeting the moment."
Ms Badenoch repeated her claim that the UK spends more on debt interest than on the Army and schools combined. That claim also remains unchecked. She again made her point about the tax burden.