Keir Starmer accuses Tories of turning Britain back into ‘sick man of Europe’

Labour leader says government has presided over decade of stagnation, and Tory mavericks attack chancellor

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Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of turning Britain back into the sick man of Europe" in a budget response that attempted to focus attention on to the Tories' economic record over the past 13 years.

The Labour leader attacked the government for presiding over more than a decade of economic stagnation and low wages, with the Office of Budget Responsibility still forecasting the biggest drop in living standards since records began.