Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce further welfare cuts of around £500million after a dispute with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR has rejected the Treasury’s £5billion welfare savings estimate, instead valuing the cuts at just £3.4billion.
An impact assessment due on Wednesday will reveal that the poorest citizens will be hardest hit by these cuts.
Senior public health experts have issued stark warnings that people could die as a result of the planned cuts to disability benefits.
The dispute has heightened tensions between Labour and the independent forecaster.
Reeves must now find £15billion in savings to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules, with the welfare cuts forming part of her upcoming spring statement.
The OBR has forced Reeves to reopen spending plans after halving its growth forecasts.
The watchdog is also expected to significantly reduce forecasts for living standards.
These developments have caused growing unease among Labour backbenchers about the welfare cuts.
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