‘Are They on Magic Mushrooms?!’ Richard Tice Slams Budget Forecasts as Rachel Reeves Faces Explosive Backlash

It didn’t take long for the backlash to kick in after the latest budget update, and Reform UK’s Richard Tice didn’t exactly hold back. Reacting furiously to the economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Tice openly questioned whether their economists were “taking magic mushrooms” and slammed them as being “completely delusional.”

He was clearly baffled by the OBR’s unexpectedly optimistic growth predictions. “The OBR has magic-ed an increase in growth – where have they found that from in a more challenging world?” he asked, sounding more than a little sceptical, reported GB News.

The row spilled straight into the Commons, where Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride also tore into Chancellor Rachel Reeves, questioning her credibility. He reminded MPs that Reeves had previously pledged not to increase borrowing or break her own fiscal rules—both of which, he pointed out, have now happened.

“How can we believe this chancellor?” he said, before delivering a stinging verdict: “We are poorer, we are weaker. To govern is to choose and this chancellor has made all the wrong choices.”

But Reeves wasn’t having it. She came back with a defence of her economic plans, saying that under her reforms, households across Britain would be around £500 better off. Not only that, but she claimed that her planned shake-up would pump an extra £15 billion into the UK economy over the next ten years.

Her pitch was simple: longer-term growth through development, planning reform, and investment. But it’s safe to say not everyone’s convinced—especially not Tice, who seemed to think the whole economic forecast was a fantasy.

It’s a big moment for Reeves, who’s been under pressure to prove her plans are both ambitious and realistic. The country’s still grappling with the cost-of-living crisis, sluggish growth, and major public service cuts on the horizon. So while she’s trying to inject a bit of hope into the outlook, critics are warning that the numbers don’t quite add up.

Whether households really will feel £500 better off in the near future is up for debate. For now, the political sparring is in full swing, with both sides trying to win the narrative on where the economy’s headed—and who’s to blame for where it is now.