Rachel Reeves has vowed to "fight" amid mounting pressure over Britain's economy in a landmark speech setting out Labour's growth plans.
Speaking at a Siemens plant in Oxfordshire, Reeves admitted her Budget came with "costs" - but claimed that no opposition parties put forth a proper alternative.
She admitted the Budget came with "consequences on business and beyond" with its £25billion rise in employers' National Insurance contributions, saying: "I accept there are costs to responsibility, but the costs of irresponsibility would be far higher."
She added that since October, she has "seen no alternative put forward by the opposition parties".
In another swipe at the Tories, the Chancellor said: "For too long, politicians have lacked the courage or the strength to confront these challenges.
"When presented with a choice, they have not prioritised growth. Instead, they have accepted the status quo and they have been the barrier - not the enablers - of change."
But the Conservatives have been hitting back - across the morning, the party has been labelling Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer "barriers to growth".
"The call is coming from inside the house," a Tory campaign message said.
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Sir Keir Starmer's approval rating has slumped to below Rishi Sunak's worst-ever level, fresh data from pollsters at More In Common has revealed.
The Prime Minister now sits at a -42 rating, one point lower than Sunak's -41 in July last year.
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch sits 26 points higher at -16, while Nigel Farage sits at -13, some 29 points above the PM.
Rachel Reeves has vowed that "building on our special relationship" with President Donald Trump's America is "in the national interest for our economy".
The Chancellor insisted that Labour would be "guided by one clear principle, above all, to act in the national interest for our economy".
"That means building on our special relationship with the United States... of President Trump," she said.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy was directly challenged by his new American counterpart over Labour's attempt to surrender the Chagos Islands, it has emerged.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is understood to have pressed Lammy on whether the agreement will undermine US security interests given the strategic American base on one of the islands, the Telegraph reports.
The Trump administration has now been given full details of the UK's as-yet-unpublished agreement to hand control of the islands to Mauritius - which will allow his top team to pore over every line, with rumours of an American veto still in the balance.
A US readout of Lammy and Rubio's call said the pair discussed both "China's malign influence" and the need for a "free and open Indo-Pacific" - though neither statement on the call issued by the US or UK explicitly mentioned Chagos.
But now, multiple sources briefed on the call have confirmed to The Telegraph that it was indeed discussed.
Rubio has form on Chagos. He was publicly critical of Sir Keir Starmer's handover announcement back in October.
At the time, he warned that Britain giving up the islands could allow "communist China" to spy on the US Navy - and with Mauritius inching ever closer to China and Iran, his boss Donald Trump could still kill off the deal.
Tractors are beginning to line the streets in Oxford ahead of Rachel Reeves's much-hailed "growth" speech in the city today.
Farmers - who have spent months protesting Reeves's inheritance tax raids on family farms, appear set to make their voices heard once again.
Eco-tycoon Dale Vince has labelled Labour's move to expand Heathrow a "big mistake" in the latest intra-party clash over growing the UK's largest airport.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned this morning that Britain "can't afford" to be a country which "doesn't build runways" - laying down the gauntlet for vocal opponents Vince and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
"I think it's a mistake. Actually, I think it's an illusion of growth," Vince said.
"It'll take 10 years to build a runway, cost maybe £50billion. It'll create the wrong kind of growth - we'll be exporting tourism money abroad, creating a bigger imbalance than we already have, and it will come at the expense of our carbon-cutting effort."
He added: "We've got to decarbonise energy, transport and food, and at the moment we're on course to do energy, and we won't do that with this Heathrow expansion, which is a big mistake."
Miliband has warned that the expansion may not go ahead if it breaches Labour's net zero targets - but Rachel Reeves has maintained that growth "trumps" his environmental concerns.
Labour's "pro-growth" messaging this morning ahead of Rachel Reeves's Oxfordshire speech is a "farce", Nigel Farage has warned.
Writing on social media, the Reform UK leader said: "The pro-growth and deregulation agenda coming from No10 and 11 is a farce.
"None of the frontbench have ever run a business and they have no idea what they are talking about."
David Lammy has been urged to "back down" and his Chagos Islands surrender will not go ahead, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has claimed after speaking to Donald Trump's team.
Writing on social media, Braverman said: "I am currently in Washington DC and have been speaking people in the Trump administration.
"I cannot see how the Chagos deal will proceed.
"The sooner Starmer and Lammy back down, the better for all concerned.
"Sovereign UK territory should stay sovereign UK territory."
Britons will start to feel better off from Labour's so-called "Plan For Change" "this year", Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has vowed.
In an optimistic shift in tone from the Treasury, Reynolds told the BBC this morning: "People will fill the difference in their pockets this year.
"Inflation is coming down, wages are rising, and the excitement, dynamism we will generate... [will] unleash the animal spirits in the UK."
Labour's Budget could take its toll on Britain's small businesses and "exacerbate" the decline of the high street, a leading tax firm has warned.
New analysis by consultancy firm Ryan Tax reveals that Rachel Reeves's attempts to squeeze tech giants for extra cash may actually end up affecting high street retailers - which now risk facing larger tax bills under her reformed business rates system.
Alex Probyn, an analyst at Ryan, said: "The legislation won't address the current tax imbalance nor level the playing field, but will actually exacerbate it."
In the Treasury's business rates proposals, properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more are set to be subjected to a higher rate of tax - the revenue from which will then be used to fund discounts for smaller properties.
Reeves's policy will fail to target online stores and will instead leave bricks-and-mortar retailers with higher tax bills, Ryan Tax's analysis warns.
The firm's figures show that retail, leisure and hospitality properties risk having to pay an extra £482million in business rates following the changes.
That's almost double what companies with large distribution warehouses are set to pay: an extra £263million.
Rachel Reeves has been warned that it is "crunch time" ahead of her pivotal growth "relaunch" speech later today.
The Chancellor is heading to Oxfordshire today to put her name behind a series of major new infrastructure projects - including a third runway at Heathrow airport, a £100million-valued upgrade to Manchester United's Old Trafford, and an "Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor" said to boost the UK economy by as much as £78billion by 2035.
She will say: "Low growth is not our destiny, but that economic growth will not come without a fight without a Government that is on the side of working people. Willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s course for the better.
"Britain is a country of huge potential. A country of strong communities, with local businesses at their heart.
"We are at the forefront of some of the most exciting developments in the world like artificial intelligence and life sciences. We have great companies based here delivering jobs and investment in Britain."
But CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith has warned: "It's crunch time for growth, and today the Chancellor has heeded business's call to go further and faster.
"This is most evident in ministers grasping decisions that have sat on the desk of government for too long. This positive leadership and a clear vision to kickstart the economy and boost productivity is welcome."
While Tory Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride jabbed: "The biggest barriers to growth in this country are Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer, and their job-destroying Budget."
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Speaking at a Siemens plant in Oxfordshire, Reeves admitted her Budget came with "costs" - but claimed that no opposition parties put forth a proper alternative.
She admitted the Budget came with "consequences on business and beyond" with its £25billion rise in employers' National Insurance contributions, saying: "I accept there are costs to responsibility, but the costs of irresponsibility would be far higher."
She added that since October, she has "seen no alternative put forward by the opposition parties".
In another swipe at the Tories, the Chancellor said: "For too long, politicians have lacked the courage or the strength to confront these challenges.
"When presented with a choice, they have not prioritised growth. Instead, they have accepted the status quo and they have been the barrier - not the enablers - of change."
But the Conservatives have been hitting back - across the morning, the party has been labelling Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer "barriers to growth".
"The call is coming from inside the house," a Tory campaign message said.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
Starmer approval rating slumps below Sunak's worst-ever tally
Sir Keir Starmer's approval rating has slumped to below Rishi Sunak's worst-ever level, fresh data from pollsters at More In Common has revealed.
The Prime Minister now sits at a -42 rating, one point lower than Sunak's -41 in July last year.
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch sits 26 points higher at -16, while Nigel Farage sits at -13, some 29 points above the PM.
Reeves: 'Building on the special relationship with Trump is in the national interest'
Rachel Reeves has vowed that "building on our special relationship" with President Donald Trump's America is "in the national interest for our economy".
The Chancellor insisted that Labour would be "guided by one clear principle, above all, to act in the national interest for our economy".
"That means building on our special relationship with the United States... of President Trump," she said.
From earlier: Lammy sparks Trump backlash over Chagos Islands as China 'threatens critical US military posture'
Foreign Secretary David Lammy was directly challenged by his new American counterpart over Labour's attempt to surrender the Chagos Islands, it has emerged.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is understood to have pressed Lammy on whether the agreement will undermine US security interests given the strategic American base on one of the islands, the Telegraph reports.
The Trump administration has now been given full details of the UK's as-yet-unpublished agreement to hand control of the islands to Mauritius - which will allow his top team to pore over every line, with rumours of an American veto still in the balance.
A US readout of Lammy and Rubio's call said the pair discussed both "China's malign influence" and the need for a "free and open Indo-Pacific" - though neither statement on the call issued by the US or UK explicitly mentioned Chagos.
But now, multiple sources briefed on the call have confirmed to The Telegraph that it was indeed discussed.
Rubio has form on Chagos. He was publicly critical of Sir Keir Starmer's handover announcement back in October.
At the time, he warned that Britain giving up the islands could allow "communist China" to spy on the US Navy - and with Mauritius inching ever closer to China and Iran, his boss Donald Trump could still kill off the deal.
Reeves on collision course with Oxfordshire farmers as tractors pile up ahead of Chancellor's speech
Tractors are beginning to line the streets in Oxford ahead of Rachel Reeves's much-hailed "growth" speech in the city today.
Farmers - who have spent months protesting Reeves's inheritance tax raids on family farms, appear set to make their voices heard once again.
Heathrow expansion exposes Labour fault lines as mega-donor Vince forced into clash with Business Secretary
Eco-tycoon Dale Vince has labelled Labour's move to expand Heathrow a "big mistake" in the latest intra-party clash over growing the UK's largest airport.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned this morning that Britain "can't afford" to be a country which "doesn't build runways" - laying down the gauntlet for vocal opponents Vince and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
"I think it's a mistake. Actually, I think it's an illusion of growth," Vince said.
"It'll take 10 years to build a runway, cost maybe £50billion. It'll create the wrong kind of growth - we'll be exporting tourism money abroad, creating a bigger imbalance than we already have, and it will come at the expense of our carbon-cutting effort."
He added: "We've got to decarbonise energy, transport and food, and at the moment we're on course to do energy, and we won't do that with this Heathrow expansion, which is a big mistake."
Miliband has warned that the expansion may not go ahead if it breaches Labour's net zero targets - but Rachel Reeves has maintained that growth "trumps" his environmental concerns.
Labour's 'pro-growth agenda' is a FARCE, Farage warns
Labour's "pro-growth" messaging this morning ahead of Rachel Reeves's Oxfordshire speech is a "farce", Nigel Farage has warned.
Writing on social media, the Reform UK leader said: "The pro-growth and deregulation agenda coming from No10 and 11 is a farce.
"None of the frontbench have ever run a business and they have no idea what they are talking about."
'The sooner Lammy backs down, the better!' Braverman vows Labour's Chagos surrender will NOT proceed
David Lammy has been urged to "back down" and his Chagos Islands surrender will not go ahead, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has claimed after speaking to Donald Trump's team.
Writing on social media, Braverman said: "I am currently in Washington DC and have been speaking people in the Trump administration.
"I cannot see how the Chagos deal will proceed.
"The sooner Starmer and Lammy back down, the better for all concerned.
"Sovereign UK territory should stay sovereign UK territory."
Business Secretary hails 'excitement and dynamism' as Treasury FINALLY starts sounding optimistic
Britons will start to feel better off from Labour's so-called "Plan For Change" "this year", Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has vowed.
In an optimistic shift in tone from the Treasury, Reynolds told the BBC this morning: "People will fill the difference in their pockets this year.
"Inflation is coming down, wages are rising, and the excitement, dynamism we will generate... [will] unleash the animal spirits in the UK."
Labour's Budget could crush Britain's high streets as retail and hospitality venues risk being squeezed for half a BILLION in business rates
Labour's Budget could take its toll on Britain's small businesses and "exacerbate" the decline of the high street, a leading tax firm has warned.
New analysis by consultancy firm Ryan Tax reveals that Rachel Reeves's attempts to squeeze tech giants for extra cash may actually end up affecting high street retailers - which now risk facing larger tax bills under her reformed business rates system.
Alex Probyn, an analyst at Ryan, said: "The legislation won't address the current tax imbalance nor level the playing field, but will actually exacerbate it."
In the Treasury's business rates proposals, properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more are set to be subjected to a higher rate of tax - the revenue from which will then be used to fund discounts for smaller properties.
Reeves's policy will fail to target online stores and will instead leave bricks-and-mortar retailers with higher tax bills, Ryan Tax's analysis warns.
The firm's figures show that retail, leisure and hospitality properties risk having to pay an extra £482million in business rates following the changes.
That's almost double what companies with large distribution warehouses are set to pay: an extra £263million.
'It's crunch time!' Reeves issued make-or-break business warning as Chancellor relaunches Labour's growth plabs
Rachel Reeves has been warned that it is "crunch time" ahead of her pivotal growth "relaunch" speech later today.
The Chancellor is heading to Oxfordshire today to put her name behind a series of major new infrastructure projects - including a third runway at Heathrow airport, a £100million-valued upgrade to Manchester United's Old Trafford, and an "Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor" said to boost the UK economy by as much as £78billion by 2035.
She will say: "Low growth is not our destiny, but that economic growth will not come without a fight without a Government that is on the side of working people. Willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s course for the better.
"Britain is a country of huge potential. A country of strong communities, with local businesses at their heart.
"We are at the forefront of some of the most exciting developments in the world like artificial intelligence and life sciences. We have great companies based here delivering jobs and investment in Britain."
But CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith has warned: "It's crunch time for growth, and today the Chancellor has heeded business's call to go further and faster.
"This is most evident in ministers grasping decisions that have sat on the desk of government for too long. This positive leadership and a clear vision to kickstart the economy and boost productivity is welcome."
While Tory Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride jabbed: "The biggest barriers to growth in this country are Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer, and their job-destroying Budget."
Politics LIVE
Welcome back to GB News' Politics LIVE blog.
We'll be updating this page throughout the day with live politics updates as they come in.
Find Out More...