PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer was slammed for hitting the poorest today after announcing the bus fare cap will rise from £2 to £3.

Campaigners reacted in fury as the Prime Minister revealed the “regressive” policy in a speech ahead of tomorrow’s Budget.

He vowed it would embrace the “harsh light of fiscal reality” but said that “better days are ahead,” while also announcing £240 million to get people back to work.

Silviya Barrett, director of policy and research at pressure group Campaign for Better Transport, described the change as “a significant increase that could be costly to many.”

She said: “It is vital that the government now carries out a full review of what other discount fares could replace the cap in the long-term to avoid any further rises.”

We Own It director Cat Hobbs told the Morning Star: “I think Starmer is missing the point of the £2 bus fare. It’s a big mistake.

“It’s going to hit the poorest people. It’s going directly take money out of their pockets and will be bad for the economy as well because those are the people most likely to spend money when they have it.

“It’s definitely a regressive move.”

She added it was disappointing to see the policy from Labour after it had introduced “positive moves to improve bus travel.”

“It’s not consistent or coherent and it’s not going to help create the improvement in public transport  that we want to see,” she said.

“They should really be going in the other direction.”

A spokesman for Momentum said: “It seems clearer by the day that the Budget, the first Labour one for over 14 years, will avoid laying out a bold, transformative vision to fix a declining Britain.

“We welcome the decision to redefine fiscal rules, but without proper funding for public services or local government austerity will just continue.”

National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede added: “While we welcome the £1.4bn announced for school buildings, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Schools and colleges are at breaking point.”

In his speech, Sir Keir also defended the expected tax rises, saying it will “prevent austerity and rebuild public services.”

“We choose to protect working people,” he said. 

“We choose to get the NHS back on its feet. We choose to fix the foundations, reject decline and rebuild our country with investment.”