Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the October Budget will be “painful” as he asked the country to “accept short-term pain for long-term good”.

In a speech in the Downing Street rose garden, the Prime Minister said the Conservatives had left his government facing a dire economic inheritance and he warned: “Things are worse than we ever imagined.”

There was some pushback from the Tories and the SNP.

Scottish Government Finance Secretary Shona Robison said Labour needed to accept “at least some of the culpability for the mess that the UK is now in.”

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In his speech, Sir Keir said: “There is a Budget coming in October, and it’s going to be painful. We have no other choice, given the situation that we’re in.

“Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden, and that’s why we’re cracking down on non-doms.

“Those who made the mess should have to do their bit to clean it up – that’s why we’re strengthening the powers of the water regulator and backing tough fines on the water companies that let sewage flood our rivers, lakes and seas.

“But, just as when I responded to the riots, I’ll have to turn to the country and make big asks of you as well, to accept short-term pain for long-term good, the difficult trade-off for the genuine solution.

“And I know that, after all that you have been through, that is a really big ask and really difficult to hear. That is not the position we should be in. It’s not the position I want to be in, but we have to end the politics of the easy answer – that solves nothing.”

The Prime Minister said he was “not going to pre-empt the Budget” when pressed on what tax rises and spending decisions the Government is considering to announce on October 30, although he reiterated his pledge on the “triple lock for working people”.

“We were being honest about the situation before the election, we set out very clearly what we would be doing with tax rises,” he said.

“I made it clear on numerous occasions that national insurance, VAT and income tax would not go up, the triple lock for working people, and that remains the position.

“I also set out that our plans were fully funded and fully costed. What I did not expect was a £22 billion black hole.”

Sir Keir denied his remarks were “performative”, adding: “I didn’t want to have to deal with the winter fuel allowance for pensioners… We have to fix the NHS, we have to fix our homes, our schools, and pensioners rely on them in the same way as everybody else does, so I’m not going to pre-empt the Budget, but I am absolutely not going to accept that the inheritance that we have is anything other than dire – a £22 billion black hole.”

Pressed further on his tax and spend plans, Sir Keir told reporters: “We have to get away from this idea that the only levers that can be pulled are more taxes or more spending.

"Our number one mission is to grow the economy to make sure we are creating the money in the first place – that remains the number one mission, nothing knocks that mission."

Responding to the speech, Ms Robinson described it as a "watershed moment in UK politics."

"Before Labour entered office, we and many others repeatedly warned that they were concealing the significant cuts they would have to make as a result of sticking to the Tory fiscal rules – and now, they are no longer able to hide from the reality.

“The political choices being made by the new UK government will fundamentally damage our ability to deliver public services in Scotland.

"The SNP government will do everything we can to protect the services and public from the Westminster attack on Scotland’s public spending.

“While clearly the legacy of the Tory government, Labour must accept at least some of the culpability for the mess that the UK is now in.

"In opposition, they rowed in behind many of the Tory decisions that have damaged the economy and hurt living standards – whether that is Brexit, austerity spending cuts or attacks on the welfare state."

Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch, who serves as shadow housing secretary, said Sir Keir was "taking the British public for fools."

"But his dishonest analysis won’t wash," she added. "He campaigned on promises he couldn’t deliver and now he is being found out.”

Former minister Robert Jenrick, who is also a Tory leadership candidate, accused Sir Keir of “shamelessly attempting to rewrite history” and having “laid the groundwork for huge tax rises”.

Outgoing Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak wrote on X: “Keir Starmer’s speech today was the clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along – raise your taxes.”