Consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level so far this year, according to PwC’s tracker of household sentiment.

The index dropped particularly sharply for over-65s, who are now the most downbeat age group in the country for the first time since 2016.

It comes after Ms Reeves scrapped winter fuel payments for those households not in receipt of pension credit.

Separately, economists at the EY Item Club slashed their outlook for the UK growth this year and warned that significant tax rises in next week’s Budget risked further slowing the recovery.

The economy is set to grow by 0.9pc this year, 1.5pc next year and the same again in 2026, the analysts predicted. It compares with predictions in the summer that growth would pick up to 1.1pc this year before registering at 2pc in both 2025 and 2026.

Economists added that there was a “downside risk to the growth outlook” as “this Budget may need to put in place today tax rises, to fund additional future increases in day-to-day spending.”

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