A leading Labour politician has admitted she does not know where the money is coming from for the party’s eye watering spending commitments in a rare moment of honesty for a politician.

Natalie Fleet, the party’s candidate for Bolsover which it lost for the first time ever in the 2019 election, was left floundering when she made an appearance on BBC East Midlands to discuss the Autumn Statement this morning.

It came after the party’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves was skewered this morning by Sky News’ Sir Trevor Phillips, a former Labour MP, who said her proposals represented “small change” in the economy.

Ms Fleet made her gaffe while appearing on BBC Politics East Midlands Sunday morning show opposite Bassetlaw Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith.

The Conservative MP had been explaining how the party was looking at “long term decisions” rather than short term ones to win votes when the presenter turned to Ms Fleet.