Image source, PA Media

Chancellor John Healey has committed to bringing the benefits bill down before the next general election, calling it a moral and economic "duty".

In a recorded interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the chancellor was also pressed on defence spending after sensationally resigning as defence secretary under Keir Starmer earlier this year over the government's commitments.

He pointed to next year's spending review as the time when he'll set out how 3% of the UK's economy will go towards defence.

Panellist and former chief of the defence staff Tony Radakin said the government was in danger "of being in a slight pickle" on defence spending, adding that Labour has had to make cuts to "balance the budget", which has meant retiring jets, scrapping ships.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the bulk of government savings needed to come from welfare spending.

She rejected suggestions her party is one for wealthy people, pointing instead to her policies on halving employers' National Insurance contributions for young people and cutting business rates for independent businesses.

Badenoch also accused Burnham's government of not focusing enough on the problems at hand today, drawing attention instead to debates like Britain potentially rejoining the EU.

On transatlantic slavery, both Healey and Badenoch rejected calls for reparations but the chancellor agreed with the prime minister's position of considering a formal apology for the UK's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

We're ending our live coverage of today's programme. You can read more from Laura Kuenssberg's interview with the chancellor here.

Earlier, a clip from BBC's Newscast was also played, in which Adrian Ramsay, the former leader of the Greens and the MP for Waveney Valley, said the party was "at a crossroads".

He said of the party's motion declaring Zionism to be racist that the “risk is it brings with it a quite divisive, quite internally focused approach to politics", adding that "small groups of people on the hard left” have been trying to influence how political parties are run.

He said he wanted to see the Greens "return to the party’s core aims and values. And make sure the membership as a whole feels involved".

In response, Nicola Sturgeon said a strong Green Party was important and hoped the Greens "get back into their stride in some way".

Economist Andy Haldane said the Green Party's economic plans were a "work in progress to make the sums add up".

• Asked whether the Tories are the party for wealthy people, Kemi Badenoch points to policies like their pledge to halve employers' National Insurance for young people, and said the party "is making sure there's something for everybody"
• She says her party has laid out £70bn worth of savings, with the bulk coming from reducing the welfare bill
• The savings under the Conservatives would also come from "looking at what government does" and cutting budgets from some departments, she says
• Badenoch says the argument about the EU is a "Westminster bubble" and she is not interested indulging what she calls the prime minister's "fantasies" about re-doing the Brexit referendum

• Asked about the transatlantic slave trade and the prospects of the UK issuing a formal apology, she says the country has apologised already and said the conversation is a "distraction"

On debate about the UK rejoining the European Union (EU) resurfacing following comments by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Badenoch says "we are having yet another Westminster bubble argument".

She says she's not interested in "magical thinking", or indulging PM Andy Burnham's "fantasies" about re-doing the referendum. Badenoch accuses him of not having a plan for "what to do today".

Asked about the transatlantic slave trade and prospects of the UK issuing a formal apology, Badenoch says the UK has apologised already.

"The transatlantic slave trade happened centuries ago, it is time for the Commonwealth to start looking forwards, not endlessly backwards," she says.

Pressed further on demands for a formal apology, Badenoch says "the problem with this endless talk about apologies is that it's a distraction, it then means that people start focusing on things that happened hundreds of years ago instead of solving today's problems, so I am against it".

Badenoch says the Commonwealth is distracted and "could be an amazing organisation if it just got serious", on talks about enslavement and reparations, she says it's time to "close that chapter of history" and focus on today.

And that wraps up Badenoch's interview with Laura Kuenssberg.

The Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme has ended. But we'll continue to bring you some of the key lines from the interviews - and reaction to what was said.

Badenoch continues and says the bulk of savings needs to come from welfare.

The Tory leader says there are six million working age adults on "out of work benefits", adding "that cannot be right" and it's where cuts must come from.

Kuenssberg then says the Budget has pencilled in cuts to non-protected departments, and asks if Badenoch would cut government departments.

Badenoch says there are parts of the government that can be reduced, and there should be a review about "what a government does".

Asked if she supports cuts for certain departments, she replies "what exactly are they cutting?" She says there is "no detail" and she does not believe they are going to do it.

Badenoch adds the "cost of government" needs to come down, and the chancellor's "98 different measures" in the Budget were largely piecemeal and won't "make a difference".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is up now.

She's asked whether the Tories are the party of the wealthy following her policy announcements on tax cuts for private schools and reversing tax for the most expensive homes in the country.

"It sounds like you haven't actually read our policies," Badenoch replies, as she points to the Tories' pledge to halve employers' National Insurance for young people and abolishing business rates for most independent businesses on the high street.

"What we are doing is making sure there's something for everybody," she says, adding that she hopes people from several backgrounds can see the Conservative party as a right fit for them.

Badenoch says the Tories are different from the government, which she describes as "the welfare party".

Reacting to the interview, former chief of the defence staff Tony Radakin says the government is in danger "of being in a slight pickle" on defence spending, adding that Labour has had to make cuts to "balance the budget", which has meant retiring jets, scrapping ships.

He says none of this will be "turned around" in 1,000 days, but instead will be into the 2030s.

Radakin is then asked by Kuenssberg about warnings of war from politicians, and if they are right or if it's rhetoric. He responds by saying anyone in the military should be ready at any time, but rhetoric is about "deterring" war.

Moving on to economist Andy Haldane, he is asked if Healey "has a grip" on the country's economic challenges, to which he replies by saying no, and that it "felt a bit flat". He adds national security will not "await a spending review" nor will the other issues.

Former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon says that "no one wants market turmoil", so that's the minimum a budget should do, but adds if that's all they're planning for then it doesn't go far enough.

Let's take a look at the highlights from Chancellor John Healey’s interview with Laura Kuenssberg:

• While there were no welfare cuts in the Budget, the chancellor has committed once again to bringing the benefits bill down before the next general election. Healey says it’s both a moral and economic “duty” to do so, adding that the government will make changes to the social security system
• Pressed on pay, Healey doesn't commit to ensuring 18 to 20-year-olds on the minimum wage would be paid the same as their older counterparts before the next general election - a different stance to Labour's 2024 manifesto
• On defence, Healey points to next year's Spending Review as the time where he'll set out how 3% of the UK's economy will go towards defence. He highlights, though, that in the Budget he's "fully funding the Defence Investment Plan, for the first time"

• In light of PM Andy Burnham’s comments about an apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, the chancellor rules out any reparations. Healey says British people today shouldn’t have the “financial liability” for something that happened hundreds of years ago

Wrapping up the interview, Laura Kuenssberg asks the chancellor about reparations for slavery.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is "open" to the possibility of the UK formally apologising for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, but has ruled out financial reparations.

Healey echoes the PM's comments, saying that the government is open to an apology "particularly ahead of the Commonwealth leaders conference".

But, he says this doesn't mean British people now should accept the financial liability for things that happened hundreds of years ago and in which they had no role.

For context: Britain had a key role in ending the trade, through Parliament's passage of a law to abolish slavery in 1833. As part of that law, British plantation owners were paid for the loss of people they had enslaved. The UK only finished paying off the debt it incurred to cover the payments in 2015.

Kuenssberg's next question to the chancellor is about the UK's high debt - more than 97% of the whole economy - and whether the government has the appetite to make significant cuts to public spending.

John Healey replies by saying "fiscal discipline" is at the heart of the Budget and the UK will reduce its deficit now "faster than any G7 country by 2029".

When asked if the government could make up to 6% of cuts to some departments over a couple of years, the chancellor says he is "prepared to take hard decisions".

He also says Labour is introducing "radical" devolution that will help the country cut the costs of double running between central and local government.

Healey is then asked if younger workers would be paid the same as older workers, when it comes to the minimum wage, by the time of the next election.

"We'll take one step at a time," he says, suggesting that Labour might abandon its plan to close the gap before the next election.

For context: In 2024, Labour said it would end the gap between the adult minimum wage and pay for 18 to 20-year-olds. But in the Budget, Healey said that younger workers would see the same increase as older workers, leaving a gap between the two rates this year. Pay for 18 to 20-year-olds in 2026 will rise to £11.27, while over-20s will be paid a minimum of £13.21 an hour.

Watch the chancellor's answer below:

Moving on, the chancellor commits once again to spending less on welfare by the time of the next election: "We will bring the benefits bill down," he says.

Kuenssberg pushes Healey on whether the overall bill will actually come down, or whether the government will merely slow the rate of increase, as was suggested by the Treasury and Downing Street.

"The overall bill must come down," the chancellor says. "There's nothing progressive in a bigger and bigger benefits bill. That's an economic duty, but it's also a moral duty."

Healey goes on to say that changes to the social security system will be made "in a way that reflects our values", with the support of businesses and trade unions to get people into work.

It is a "national scandal", he says, that a million young people are not in employment, education or training.

• Read more: One in eight young people still out of work or education

Sitting down for an interview at Downing Street, the first topic Laura Kuenssberg questions the chancellor about is the defence secretary saying that the UK needs to be ready for war by July 2029.

John Healey responds by saying "that's the Nato assessment".

"We have to do more as this is a very dangerous world and threats are rising," the chancellor says.

He adds the current government has raised defence spending "by a record amount since the Cold War" and is planning to set a 3% defence spending target for 2030.

When pressed on if the government will be able to fund these increases to defence spending, the chancellor says for the first time the defence investment plan has been "fully funded".

He says his Budget has demonstrated that he is willing to make hard decisions about priorities.

Laura Kuenssberg first speaks to the chancellor at the site of the new Royal Navy frigate HMS Glasgow on the River Clyde.

She asks him how he thinks his first Budget went.

"Well, having got to the weekend - that's a result," he quips.

Healey then adds he believes "people saw the choices he was making, which was to give households and businesses a bit of breathing space".

Kuenssberg also asks the chancellor how he's found his job differing to his previous role as defence secretary.

He replies by saying "I speak for the whole economy now" and promises the government will set out its longer-term spending plans next year, which will include plans to meet Nato spending targets.

• At the 2025 Nato summit in the Hague, allies committed to investing 5% of GDP in defence - that includes at least 3.5% on “core defence” and up to 1.5% on “defence and security-related spending” which can include things like protecting critical infrastructure

This week's episode of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is just getting started.

As a reminder, you can watch live at the top of the page.

We'll also bring you the key lines here - stick with us.

Image source, PA Media

If you missed Wednesday's Budget, here's how Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch reacted:

• Badenoch said the Budget was "not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough"
• Next year the UK's tax burden would be "the highest in our country's history", she said, adding that the UK remained "overspent, overborrowed, overtaxed and drowning in an out-of-control welfare system"
• Badenoch said there were "some things" in the Budget she welcomed, thanking the chancellor for "breaking Labour's pledge on the minimum wage for young people" and welcomed his "U-turn on Isas"

• Badenoch ended her Commons response by saying "let's cut spending, cut the deficit, fund defence, cut people's taxes", and added that is what her party would have done and that will be the choice at the next election

Image source, Reuters

Following Wednesday's Budget, the Conservatives reacted by accusing Labour of being "addicted to welfare".

The Office for Budget Responsibility has said total welfare spending would grow from £334bn last year to £431bn by 2030.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme in the hours after his first Budget, Chancellor John Healey said he would work to bring the welfare bill down.

Asked whether there would be cuts in welfare before the next election, Healey said: "There will be. There will be a reduction in the benefits bill.

"We'll do that in a Labour way and we'll do that because it is simply not good for Britain or progressive to have a bigger and bigger benefits bill."

Several Treasury sources then took issue with this being interpreted as a promise to do so by the next election, with one suggesting Healey was explicitly attempting to avoid that impression being left.

PM Andy Burnham was then asked about the issue on Thursday, saying he wanted to cut the welfare bill "as soon as we possibly can", but was unable to guarantee this would happen before the next election.

Image source, Getty Images

In analysis presented the day after the Budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that the outlook for household income growth is "depressing".

The think tank says the current decade is set to be the worst for household income growth on record.

"No amount of temporary cost-of-living packages will fix that," says IFS director Helen Miller.

Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation has said typical working-age households will see their disposable income fall by £1,050, or 3%, between now and 2029, calling the 2020s "an almost completely lost decade for living standards".

The Office for Budget Responsibility - the UK's official forecaster - also says its latest economic forecast paints a "pretty grim picture", blaming higher borrowing costs and inflation caused by the US-Iran war.

Healey billed his Budget as one that would give people "breathing space" on the cost of living.

We've got a quick run down on some of the key measures revealed on Wednesday.

Other measures were also announced on housing, devolution and defence - we've got more on that here.