Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned of a "missed opportunity" in her Spring Statement by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, following the fiscal announcement on Wednesday.
Reeves laid out her economic plan in the House of Commons, but sparked swathes of criticism for her cuts to welfare benefits - amounting to almost £5billion.
Confirming the cuts, Reeves told MPs: "The Labour Party is the party of work. We believe that if you can work, you should work. But if you can’t work, you should be properly supported."
Speaking to GB News, Daisy Cooper hit out at Reeves for targeting the vulnerable in society whilst looking to award "tax cuts" to the "billionaires" such a Elon Musk.
Cooper said of the Statement: "I think the country is crying out for change, and yesterday's Spring Statement was a really big missed opportunity to deliver the change that everybody has been promised.
"We know that the growth forecast has been halved and that it could be wiped out altogether with Donald Trump's tariffs, but what we're deeply concerned about is that it appears as though the Government is going to pursue cuts to disabled people and their carers, whilst potentially at the same time not ruling out giving a tax cut to Elon Musk and other billionaire tech barons."
Highlighting the impact on Labour, Cooper stressed that the Government "risk losing their moral compass" as a result of the policy.
Suggesting how Reeves could secure more money for the Government to invest elsewhere, Cooper urged the Chancellor to "reverse tax cuts" awarded to the "big banks" by the Conservatives instead of reforming the welfare system.
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Cooper told GB News: "We Liberal Democrats have said for a long time that there are big corporations that are making billions of pounds in profits, and it's those corporations that the Government should be going after. So we think they should reverse the tax cuts that the Conservatives gave to the big banks.
"We think they should be increasing taxes on the big tech companies and the big online gambling companies as well. They could be reforming capital gains tax to bring it down for most people, but to put it up for the 0.1 per cent richest people."
She added: "There are a number of ways in which the Government could be raising revenue in a fairer way, without damaging jobs tax, or putting further taxes on struggling families."
When pressed on how Labour can help boost growth in the economy, Cooper highlighted Britain's need for trade deals both in Europe and the US, amid looming tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
Cooper explained: "We do need to get growth back into our economy, and the easiest, best, fastest way of doing that is to have a better trading relationship with our closest trading partners in Europe.
"And so we do want to see the Government talking about renegotiating that trade deal, getting rid of the red tape, the two billion pieces of paperwork that have had to be filled in by businesses since Brexit.
"The Government could be renegotiating that right now and developing a bespoke customs union that works for British businesses, and get that in place by 2030 at the latest."
The Chancellors welfare cuts are expected to affect more than three million families across Britain.
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Reeves laid out her economic plan in the House of Commons, but sparked swathes of criticism for her cuts to welfare benefits - amounting to almost £5billion.
Confirming the cuts, Reeves told MPs: "The Labour Party is the party of work. We believe that if you can work, you should work. But if you can’t work, you should be properly supported."
Speaking to GB News, Daisy Cooper hit out at Reeves for targeting the vulnerable in society whilst looking to award "tax cuts" to the "billionaires" such a Elon Musk.
Cooper said of the Statement: "I think the country is crying out for change, and yesterday's Spring Statement was a really big missed opportunity to deliver the change that everybody has been promised.
"We know that the growth forecast has been halved and that it could be wiped out altogether with Donald Trump's tariffs, but what we're deeply concerned about is that it appears as though the Government is going to pursue cuts to disabled people and their carers, whilst potentially at the same time not ruling out giving a tax cut to Elon Musk and other billionaire tech barons."
Highlighting the impact on Labour, Cooper stressed that the Government "risk losing their moral compass" as a result of the policy.
Suggesting how Reeves could secure more money for the Government to invest elsewhere, Cooper urged the Chancellor to "reverse tax cuts" awarded to the "big banks" by the Conservatives instead of reforming the welfare system.
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Cooper told GB News: "We Liberal Democrats have said for a long time that there are big corporations that are making billions of pounds in profits, and it's those corporations that the Government should be going after. So we think they should reverse the tax cuts that the Conservatives gave to the big banks.
"We think they should be increasing taxes on the big tech companies and the big online gambling companies as well. They could be reforming capital gains tax to bring it down for most people, but to put it up for the 0.1 per cent richest people."
She added: "There are a number of ways in which the Government could be raising revenue in a fairer way, without damaging jobs tax, or putting further taxes on struggling families."
When pressed on how Labour can help boost growth in the economy, Cooper highlighted Britain's need for trade deals both in Europe and the US, amid looming tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
Cooper explained: "We do need to get growth back into our economy, and the easiest, best, fastest way of doing that is to have a better trading relationship with our closest trading partners in Europe.
"And so we do want to see the Government talking about renegotiating that trade deal, getting rid of the red tape, the two billion pieces of paperwork that have had to be filled in by businesses since Brexit.
"The Government could be renegotiating that right now and developing a bespoke customs union that works for British businesses, and get that in place by 2030 at the latest."
The Chancellors welfare cuts are expected to affect more than three million families across Britain.
Find Out More...