The deputy speaker who stole Budget show: Nusrat Ghani won legion of

An unlikely heroine appeared to emerge during today’s Budget debates – with House of Commons deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani hailed for stealing the show.

The Conservative MP for Sussex Weald was overseeing the main debate as under-fire Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her financial statement to Parliament.

She was not only stepping in in place of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, but made her mark by rebuking the Government over premature leaks of Budget details.

And she attracted attention for her natty attire including a checked tie as well as her stern words following a gaffe by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Ms Ghani, 53, is the senior of Deputy Speakers, with roles including presiding over Budget discussions instead of the Speaker as part of Westminster tradition.

She previously served in various ministerial roles during the former Conservative government, such as Europe minister and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.

She made clear how unimpressed she was after the OBR spending watchdog shared online details of the Budget ahead of Ms Reeves’ Commons statement at 12.30pm.

And Ms Ghani went further, condemning Treasury ministers for pre-Budget briefings which she said seemed to ‘have reached an unprecedented high’.

Nusrat Ghani (pictured), Conservative MP for Sussex Weald, was overseeing the main debate as under-fire Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget to Parliament

Ms Ghani, 53, is the senior of Deputy Speakers, with roles including presiding over Budget discussions instead of the Speaker as part of Westminster tradition

She told the Commons: ‘For a number of weeks, and yet again yesterday, there have been extensive briefings to the media on the Government’s fiscal policy and public finances.

‘This disappointing trend in relation to Budget briefings has been growing for a number of years under successive governments, but appears to have reached an unprecedented high.

‘Weeks ago, we saw the Chancellor delivering a speech in Downing Street, setting a scene for the Budget, as well as specific policy announcements being briefed out to the media in advance of today’s financial statements.

‘And just a moment ago, it seems the OBR analysis has also appeared online. This all falls short of standards that the House expects.

‘The premature disclosure of the contents of the Budget has always been regarded as a supreme discourtesy to this House and to all the democratically elected members, not to mention to Mr Speaker and to myself, the Chairman of Ways and Means.’

Ms Ghani later said: ‘I want honourable members on all sides of the House to have adequate opportunity to hold the Chancellor to account, rather than to hear and read about new policies on a daily basis in the media. And like many, I also expected better.’

Kashmir-born, Birmingham-raised Ms Ghani has chaired Parliament’s Ways and Means committee since last year – having been elected Deputy Speaker in July 2024, not long after Sir Keir’s Labour government came to power.

She has been an MP since 2015, winning in the West Sussex constituency of Wealden before boundary changes last year saw her seat redrawn as Sussex Weald.

Nusrat Ghani is seen at a National Farmers Union event in Westminster in September 2016

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Married mother-of-one Ms Ghani told in 2022 that she had been dismissed from her Conservative government job as transport minister due to her Muslim faith.

Ms Ghani alleged she was told by a whip her ‘Muslimness was raised as an issue’ at a post-reshuffle meeting and that her status as a Muslim woman and a minister was ‘making colleagues feel uncomfortable’.

She told The Times she felt ‘humiliated and powerless’ after the alleged conversation, saying: ‘It was like being punched in the stomach.’

Government sources close to the whips’ office strenuously denied the allegation.

She has been receiving online praise today for her stewardship of the Budget debate.

Social media responses have included ‘Nusrat Ghani truly serving looks and a telling off’, ‘Nusrat Ghani – Deputy Speaker is usually superb, and today exemplifies why’ and ‘My main budget take away is that I could listen to Nusrat Ghani all day long’.

Another poster on X, formerly Twitter, wrote: ‘Nusrat Ghani should take over as Speaker.

‘She has shown she is capable of controlling the clown show that the Commons has become unlike the current holder of that position.’

Rachel Reeves can be seen reading about the OBR leak during Prime Minister’s Questions

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The Chancellor Ms Reeves is thought to have been unaware of today’s OBR error until she found out the bad news from Treasury colleague Thorsten Bell.

Video footage broadcast live at 12.11pm showed Ms Reeves anxiously looking at the phone while Sir Keir Starmer was speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Ms Reeves was then seen writing something down while looking at Treasury minister James Murray’s phone as Sir Keir continued to address the House of Commons.

Moments later the Chancellor and Mr Bell were spotted exchanging notes, with the Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury telling Ms Reeves: ‘It’s fine, it’s fine.’

The report – which is usually released after a Budget statement – included growth forecasts, the extent of tax rises and the decision to lift the two-child cap on benefits.

As she began speaking, Ms Reeves said the unprecedented pre-Budget publication of the document was ‘deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part’.

Ms Reeves said: ‘It is my understanding that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and financial outlook was released on their website before this statement.

‘This is deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part. The Office for Budget Responsibility have already made a statement, taking full responsibility for their breach.’

Nusrat Ghani has been an MP since 2015, winning in the West Sussex constituency of Wealden before boundary changes last year saw her seat redrawn as Sussex Weald

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Just minutes earlier, the Chancellor’s second Budget was revealed ahead of time by the unexpected early publication of the Budget watchdog’s analysis.

The report laid out a series of tax rises to fill a black hole in the public finances, and that the UK’s economy will grow more slowly than predicted over the next four years.

The OBR also revealed Ms Reeves will introduce measures aimed at helping those struggling with living costs, including an end to the two-child limit on benefits.

The document is not meant to be released until after the Chancellor has delivered her Budget in the House of Commons.

But it was published on the OBR website early, the latest in a series of leaks and early disclosures ahead of the statement. The OBR apologised, blaming a ‘technical error’.

The Tories’ Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said it was an ‘utterly outrageous’ leak of market-sensitive information which could constitute a criminal act.

An OBR statement said: ‘A link to our economic and fiscal outlook document went live on our website too early this morning. It has been removed. We apologise for this technical error and have initiated an investigation into how this happened.

‘We will be reporting to our oversight board, the Treasury and the Commons Treasury Committee on how this happened, and we will make sure this does not happen again.

‘Our economic and fiscal outlook and supporting documents will be released when the Chancellor has finished her speech.’