Asked directly whether Reeves had misled the public, Mr Alexander replied: “No she hasn’t. She set out very clearly on the Kuenssberg programme this morning the fact that these figures go back and forth between the OBR and the Treasury but she was very clear about the need to build the fiscal headroom.”
He added: “There was no choice simply to do nothing.”
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The Scottish secretary said the Chancellor had long warned of a “productivity downgrade” rooted in decisions by the previous Conservative government and that ministers “needed to respond accordingly”.
He argued that the government had decided it was necessary for people to “make a contribution to meet the needs of the country”.
“There was a choice that you could have had austerity in this budget but that’s not a choice I think most Scots want to return to,” he said.
The Scottish Secretary insisted the Chancellor was “determined” to use the Budget to cut energy bills, provide Scotland with a “record settlement” and lift children out of poverty through ending the two-child benefit cap.
Mr Alexander said there were “grounds for optimism”, pointing to rising wages, an improved growth forecast and cuts to energy bills.
His remarks come after Reeves denied breaking Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on ordinary households, arguing she had been clear that everyone would need to “make a contribution” to protect public services.
The Chancellor has rejected claims that she misrepresented the economic picture in the run-up to the Budget. She has repeatedly cited a downgrade in the UK’s expected productivity growth, saying this reduced the fiscal room available for spending decisions.
However, in a letter sent to MPs on Friday, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility revealed that higher-than-expected wage forecasts, information he said was shared with the Treasury in mid-September, would help the government meet its fiscal rules.
The OBR also told the Treasury on 31 October that the government was still on track to meet its rule on borrowing for day-to-day spending, though with less headroom than previously expected.
The budget includes a freeze on income tax thresholds which quietly drags millions into higher bands. Scotland sets its own income tax rates, but not the personal allowance, which applies UK-wide. That means lower take-home pay for Scots and an automatic deduction from the block grant via the fiscal framework.
The extension of a freeze on National Insurance thresholds for an extra three years and the removal of National Insurance exemption for salary-sacrificed pension contributions above an annual £2,000 threshold from April 2029 will also impact Scots.
In their manifesto, Labour pledged not to increase National Insurance as well as the the basic, higher or additional rates of Income tax.
Conservatives have accused Reeves of presenting an unduly bleak picture as a “smokescreen” for tax rises.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the OBR chairman’s letter showed Reeves had “lied to the public” and called for her to be sacked.
Ms Reeves has dismissed those claims, saying freezing income tax thresholds was “the right thing” to protect public spending commitments.
She insisted she was “very upfront” that changes to welfare and the winter fuel allowance meant “the government would have to find the money”.
The Chancellor said the lifting of the two-child benefit cap would be funded through higher online gambling taxes and measures to reduce tax evasion, arguing it would lift half a million children out of poverty.
During her interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Reeves also denied that Labour had created an impression before the election that taxes would not rise. She pointed to commitments not to increase income tax rates, National Insurance or VAT—promises she said she had kept.
Pressed on whether freezing tax thresholds broke the spirit of those pledges, Reeves insisted she had not misled voters and said she was being “honest and upfront”, acknowledging she is asking people to pay more.
Mr Alexander also criticised the SNP as he highlighted the UK government’s additional £820 million settlement to the Scottish Government.
Addressing the First Minister on St Andrew’s Day, he said: “John, where’s the money gone?”, highlighting one in six Scots on NHS waiting lists and one in six young people in Scotland between the ages of 18-24 are out of work.
Following this mornings’ interviews, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Reeves’ position was “untenable”, claiming the Budget was “based on a pack of lies” and accusing Labour of breaking manifesto commitments.
“They promised change but they delivered chaos, lies and broken promises,” he said. “They should go now before they are forced out by their own MPs.”
The Scottish Conservatives were also critical of Ms Reeves and the Scottish Secretary who they have said should be “embarrassed” for defending “a Chancellor who should be sacked for misleading the public about the nation’s finances.”
Scottish Tory MSP Craig Hoy said: “Rachel Reeves wanted her Benefits Street Budget so badly that she lied about the OBR’s forecasts in a pitiful effort to justify breaking her promise of not raising taxes on working people.
“Douglas Alexander is in denial and his desperate attempt to cover up for his Chancellor’s lies won’t wash with the public.
“Labour’s disastrous £26 billion tax raid is hammering workers and businesses to pay for more benefits.
“Worse still, Labour have ignored pleas to ditch the Energy Profits Levy which is killing Scotland’s oil and gas industry and are keeping their Family Farm Tax that is harming agricultural businesses.
“Labour, just like the SNP government, are decimating hard-pressed families and businesses with higher bills, while the Scottish Conservatives are focused on lowering bills and growing our economy.”
