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Rachel Reeves has announced the date of the Budget amid warnings she will be forced to hike taxes.
The Chancellor will deliver the crucial statement – unveiling the government’s tax and spending plans – on November 26. It will be Labour’s second Budget since the party’s landslide election victory last year. At her maiden Budget, Ms Reeves hiked tax on businesses, added VAT on private school fees, and increased capital gains tax, in order to fund a massive injection of cash into the crisis-hit NHS.
But November’s statement comes amid warnings from economic experts the Chancellor will be forced to hike taxes to plug the gap in the nation’s finances. The NIESR economic think tank warned last month that she is set for a £41 billion shortfall on her self-imposed rule of balancing day-to-day spending with tax receipts in 2029-30.
Keir Starmer has previously said he does not recognise the figures but has stood by Labour’s manifesto vow not to increase taxes on “working people” – ruling out any increase in VAT, national insurance, or income tax.
Earlier this week the Prime Minister bolstered his economic team in Downing Street ahead of the Budget with a shake-up of his backroom operation. Mr Starmer appointed the Chancellor’s deputy, Darren Jones, to a new role as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.
He also brought in Baroness Minouche Shafik – a former Bank of England deputy governor – as his chief economic adviser, and senior Treasury mandarin Dan York-Smith as his principal private secretary.
Ms Reeves’s comments came as the disaster ex-Tory PM Liz Truss claimed Britain was heading for a “calamity” under the Chancellor’s “economic orthodoxy”.
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Truss, who was turfed out of office after just 49 days after her mini-Budget sparked turmoil in the financial markets, again appeared unrepentant.She attempted to defend her record in office, blamed the Bank of England, and claimed she wasn’t “captain of the ship” in Downing Street.
But responding to her comments, the Health Secretary Mr Streeting said: “The last person that Rachel Reeves will be taking advice from on effective management of the economy and public finances is Liz Truss. To be honest how she’s got the nerve to show her face after what she did to the country -remarkable lack of self-awareness to be honest”.
He added: “We’ll take no lectures from Liz Truss. In fact, we quite often resent former Conservatives popping up, complaining about the choices we’re making, as we clean up the mess they left behind. A bit like the arsonist complaining the fire brigade isn’t doing a good enough job.”
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