Labour should slash the welfare bill by £20 billion in an attempt to balance the nation’s books, according to one of its influential MPs.

Chris Curtis, who is co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, said the current rate of spending on benefits was “unsustainable” and that the government’s previous attempts to cut the bill by £5 billion had not been ambitious enough.

His comments, on the Politics Inside Out podcast, come ahead of next week’s Budget, in which Rachel Reeves is set to increase taxes as she seeks to fill a £20 billion hole in the Treasury’s finances.

At the last Budget a year ago, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that total government spending on health and disability benefits would rise from £64.7 billion in 2023-24 to £100.7bn in 2029-30.

It is understood th

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