Reeves urges Labour MPs to unite behind the Budget

Rachel Reeves has urged Labour MPs to unite behind her Budget as she vowed to stay on as chancellor in the years ahead.

Speaking to a meeting of Labour's Parliamentary Party on Monday evening, Reeves warned MPs they must "stick together" if they wanted to win the next election.

She said her Budget, due to be delivered on Wednesday and coming after weeks of speculation about tax rises, would make "difficult choices".

Labour MPs would like 90-95% of her spending plan, she said but added: "It's a package, not a pick-and-mix. You can't say you like the cola bottles but you don't like the fruit salad."

"It all comes together and hangs together as a whole."

Following the meeting, one Labour MP said the chancellor had been "strong and honest" but another said her pleas for unity had sounded "desperate".

In the year since the last Budget, Labour MPs have become increasingly critical of Reeves' judgement.

The Chancellor has been forced to make U-turns on some policies, including cutting the winter fuel payment.

There had also been concerns in the party about suggestions she would use this Budget to raise income tax rates, a move that would have broken the party's election manifesto promise.

The government now appears to have stepped back from that proposal.