Prime Minister Andy Burnham has defended the Budget against claims it is “not bold enough”.

Mr Burnham insisted there are “strong signs that the economy will improve” but admitted the Government does not have “huge room for manoeuvre”.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the Budget is “not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough”, while Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick described it as a “nothing burger”.

John Healey has set out his first Budget as Chancellor with a bid to provide “breathing space” for the public amid a difficult domestic economic situation made worse by the turmoil of the Iran war.

The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said the Budget’s “raft of fiddly measures” would do little to boost growth and warned it delayed tough decisions and the Resolution Foundation think tank said Chancellor John Healey had “spread the jam thin”.

But defending the plans, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: “It’s pretty bold to help 20 million households with energy…