Cabinet ministers have written to the prime minister in an urgent attempt to soften some of the spending cuts being demanded ahead of the budget.
The main measures for the budget had to be decided by the end of Wednesday and sent to the Office for Budget Responsibility before the Treasury shut up for the evening.
Sky News can confirm letters from cabinet ministers complaining about the budget went over the head of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to Sir Keir Starmer and Number 10.
Some of these letters are believed to have gone in over the last couple of days.
After Wednesday, only small changes can ordinarily be made to the budget, typically around involving items of tens or hundreds of millions rather than billions. The existence of the letters was first reported by Bloomberg.
Some cabinet ministers are deeply concerned about the scale of the cuts being demanded in some areas to fund pay rises and spending increases elsewhere.
It is understood Number 10 has received complaints from three government departments: the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport, and the Ministry of Justice.
Not all of these complaints were made through the medium of a letter.
It is understood the call for an intervention by Number 10 has helped soften a small portion of the cuts for some cabinet ministers’ departments.
But largely the shape of the budget, which is for the most part wrapped up on Wednesday night, has remained unchanged – and so have the nerves about how it will land in two weeks.
