Next the prime minister is asked about new polling that suggests that the public think that the Budget's priorities should be about cutting taxes. So are Starmer's priorities wrong?

"No," he says.

For too long we have pretended that we can cut tax and spend more, Starmer says, drawing a rare round of applause from those in attendance.

"Everyone knows the NHS is broken," he says, "and we're going to fix it."

"What we're not going to do, is continue the fiction that got us here in the first place."

"People voted for change and we'll deliver it," the prime minister says.

A journalist from The Sun asks the prime minister whether a hike on fuel duty would be a "direct hit" to working people.

Starmer says he won't pre-empt the budget but understands how important the question is.

That's it from the prime minister, but there's plenty more to be said on our end.

Stick with us as we bring you the last questions from the press conference, as well as the latest updates and analysis.

The Times then pushes Keir Starmer more about tax rises, asking if this will be the last budget that raises taxes?

Starmer says they are "fixing the foundations" with this budget.

He says nobody wants tax rises, but says he cannot give a "cast-iron guarantee" that in the future there won't be more tax hikes.

The government is planning to do things upfront in this budget, he adds, and that "tough stuff" is coming now.

The next question is about the changing borrowing rules and whether debt will become more expensive.

Starmer doesn't answer the question specifically, but says the government has to move to invest in the future of the country.

The PM is now asked about scrapping a £2 cap on bus fares in England, rumoured to be included in the Budget.

Starmer says the Tories only funded this capped fare to the end of 2024.

He says he understands how reliant many people are on this cap, particularly in rural England and announces that there will be a new £3 cap fare until 2025 announced this week

The prime minister is also asked about the Labour MP Mike Amesbury after CCTV footage emerged appearing to show him punching a man to the ground.

Starmer says Amesbury has been suspended, that a police investigation is ongoing and that he can't say any more.

Next, a question from GB news.

They ask Starmer what he would say to a pensioner who says he regrets voting Labour after the withdrawal of the universal winter fuel payment for pensioners.

Starmer says he "genuinely understands the concerns people have". He says the government is "protecting the most vulnerable" with pension credits.

Focusing on "fixing the foundations" allows the government to commit to triple lock on pensions, he adds, which he says means every pensioner will be better off under Labour.

Sky News continues on the theme of tax.

The journalist asks the prime minister if he is "certain that you're front-loading the pain" and if so, can he "rule out more big tax hikes" in future budgets?

Starmer says he believes they need to "run towards the tough decisions", and "fix the foundations" but acknowledges it is "tough" which is why they are making these decisions.

"It is the right thing to do," he says.

He references a business investment summit a few weeks ago, calling it a "proof point" that these decisions trigger needed investment. They got £63bn of investment at the summit, he adds.

The second question comes from ITV, who asks Starmer to be honest about this budget raising taxes for working people.

Starmer says he is concerned with the payslip of working people and that it matters that there is not more tax within it.

He says that honesty is really important, and that he is not prepared to continue 14 years of "fiction".

Where there are problems we will identify and fix them, he says.

He then repeats the earlier challenge to critics, to be specific about the alternatives they propose.

The prime minister is taking questions now, starting with the BBC's Vicki Young.

She asks about whether the Budget will include "sneaky tax rises" where increases in National Insurance rates for employers will actually be passed on to working people.

Starmer says he will stick to his promise not to increase taxes on working people and that these measures are needed to stabilise the economy.

Everyone knows when dealing with damp that you need to fix the problem, not paint over it, the prime minister says again.

Starmer ends his speech by saying the government will deliver the priorities mentioned through stability, investment and reform.

"That is the course we set this week... and the change that we will deliver," he says.

Starmer says on every mission, the government will publish "clear ambitions" for parliament and track their progress against them so people in the country can see how they "measure up".

Working people will not "accept any excuses" he adds.

He mentions their policies of building more houses, ensuring children attend schools, neighbourhood policing, improving living standards and cutting NHS waiting lists.

While he can't get into individual measures before Rachel Reeves delivers the budget on Wednesday, Starmer directs his attention to those who would criticise what will be announced.

He challenges those who would criticise them to be specific in setting out an alternative path - if they say the state has grown too big, where would they make cuts in the public service? If they are against borrowing, where would they cut investment? If they say taxes are too high, let them say why the lessons of Liz Truss are over.

He says it is long overdue that politicians in this country level with people about the necessary trade-offs, and stop insulting the intelligence of the public with easy answers.

Starmer say he expects to be judged on his ability to deal with the economy.

We have huge assets in this country, leading the world in the industries of the future like AI, life sciences, creative industries and more, he says,

Starmer adds the UK also has values that are "deep in the bones of this nation that say to the world that this country is open for business," Starmer says

So if we grasp those nettles and fix the foundations, then "better days are ahead," he says.

"A new future is being built", he says, "a better future."

But we can't waste any more time, the prime minister says.

"It's time to embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality," by running towards, not away from, tough decisions.

We choose to protect working people, to get the NHS back on its feet and to rebuild the country with investment, Starmer says.

Starmer gives the example of prison overcrowding as an example of things that were worse than expected when Labour came into power.

He says the Tories "ran away" from dealing with prisons and chose to call an early election instead.

Starmer says the Tories knew "our public services were broken" and that there was a "black hole" in the public finances.

He says the country is wondering whether "decline is an incurable disease" and that the state needs urgent modernisation.

"This is not 1997" when the economy was good but public services weren't, or 2010 when public finances were weak but the economy was strong, Starmer says.

Today, they have to deal with both being bad, he adds.

The budget on Wednesday will "prevent devastating austerity in our public services," and a "disastrous" path for public finances.

The prime minister adds that "things are worse than we could have possibly expected".

Starmer says again that there will be tough decisions but that it is why the Budget will get Britain working.

He says the budget will pave the way for reforms to tackle root causes of economic inactivity.

The UK is the only G7 country where economic inactivity is still higher than it was before Covid, he says and so announces that the budget will contain £240 million for local services to help people into work.

Starmer adds that his government will be ruthless in clamping down on government waste and tax avoidance, that "every penny counts".

The prime minister continues by saying that everyone who finds damp in their house knows that you can either paint over it or strip it out, pull out the plaster and deal with the damp once and for all.

That's why he will always defend making the tough decision, Starmer says.

The Budget this week will be a Budget for working people from a government for working people.

And it will be the first Budget delivered by a women ever, the prime minister goes on.

"A moment of pride," Starmer says, "that young women and girls will be watching."

It will also be a Budget that will show the British people that the government won't be distracted from the task of taking the country out of its "pay more, earn less doom-loop," the prime minister says

The prime minister goes on to say that working people have had enough of austerity.

"They know austerity is no solution, and they've seen the chaos of politicians who let borrowing get out of control," he says.

The Labour government is choosing a "different path" - which he says is in the interest of working people.

Starmer talks of stability and reform, and says £63bn worth of investment was secured from businesses two weeks ago.

"I know some people recoil from the tough decisions we have to make...but businesses can see we are fixing the foundations," he adds.

Starmer continues addressing problems he says people in the UK are facing.

These include long NHS waiting lists, the "mortgage bombshell", anti-social behaviours in town centres and people who can't afford to buy a house.

He also addresses the issue of people who feel "ignored" as they face more bills and "slide into greater insecurity".

Starmer says "every single one" of the government's national missions are aimed at delivering for working people, including reforming planning law to "get Britain building", ending the junior doctor's strike and stopping the riots.

"It's working people who pay the price when their government fails to deliver," Starmer adds.