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Rachel Reeves will announce Labour’s first Budget since coming into power on 30 October, leading one of the most anticipated fiscal events in over two decades.
Ahead of the announcement, Keir Starmer is set to deliver a stark speech warning of “unprecedented” economic challenges as he heads to the West Midlands today.
Sir Keir will say: “Politics is always a choice. It’s time to choose a clear path, and embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality so we can come together behind a credible, long-term plan.”
The prime minister and chancellor have both confirmed tax rises are coming on Wednesday, and continue to manage expectations ahead of the event.
The speech comes as Labour faces a row over reported plans to raise employer national insurance contributions and capital gains, with critics arguing these measures would breach the party’s manifesto commitment to not raise taxes on “working people.”
Asked whether he considered people who make money from assets or property to be ‘working people,’ Sir Keir told Sky News: “They wouldn’t come within my definition.”
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event here, on The Independent’s liveblog.
Key Points
- What is expected in next week’s Budget?
- Rachel Reeves: Budget is ‘not going to be easy'
- Working people will not see higher taxes on their payslip, education secretary promises
- New era of investment in hospitals, schools and transport to be announced in Budget
- Expected rise on bus fares in Budget - reports
Budget 2024 preview: What tax rises could Labour’s first statement contain?
Rachel Reeves will announce Labour’s first Budget in 15 years on 30 October, as speculation mounts around what measures could be included.
The chancellor faces a difficult task, with the fiscal event set against the backdrop of the £22bn ‘black hole’ in public spending which she announced in late July.
Here’s your guide to some of the tax rises the chancellor could be considering for her first Budget:
Budget 2024: What tax rises could Labour’s first statement contain?
Many experts expect tax rises to be on the cards
Albert Toth28 October 2024 09:57 1730107844Rachel Reeves borrows George Osborne’s mantra in ‘strivers’ Budget
Rachel Reeves has borrowed the language of the former Tory chancellor George Osborne to say her first Budget will be for “strivers” as her party faced a deepening row over the definition of “working people”.
“To these people I say, I’ve got your back.... I will deliver for you. It’s a Budget for the strivers,” she wrote in The Sun on Sunday.
The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Rachel Reeves borrows George Osborne’s mantra in ‘strivers’ Budget
But Keir Starmer vows no return to austerity as he paves way for tax rises and spending cuts
Kate Devlin28 October 2024 09:30 1730105744Give us five years, Starmer tells Brits ahead of Budget
“Judge us by whether, in five years’ time, you have more money in your pocket,” Sir Keir Starmer writes in a letter for The Mirror today.
The prime minister writes: “The first Labour budget in 14 years. The first budget in British history to be delivered by a female Chancellor of the Exchequer. And the first time in a decade and a half where the concerns and priorities of working people are put first.
“This is the moment that will reject austerity, chaos and decline and choose a clear path of stability, investment and reform.
“It’s no secret that for fourteen years, the Tories didn’t just run a leaky ship – they sailed it carelessly into every storm, smashing it against the rocks, and leaving the British people to pay the price.”
Albert Toth28 October 2024 08:55 1730103922Prime minister to deliver harsh warning ahead of Budget
Sir Keir Starmer is set to deliver a harsh pre-Budget warning as he travels to the West Midlands today, outlining the “unprecedented” economic challenges the country faces.
The prime minister will say: “We have to be realistic about where we are as a country. This is not 1997, when the economy was decent but public services were on their knees.
“And it’s not 2010, where public services were strong, but the public finances were weak. These are unprecedented circumstances.
“And that’s before we even get to the long-term challenges ignored for 14 years: an economy riddled with weakness on productivity and investment, a state that needs urgent modernisation to face down the challenge of a volatile world.”
Albert Toth28 October 2024 08:25 1730100420What to watch out for in the Budget? VAT on private schools and boost to school building
The government has announced plans to remove the exemption which saw private school not have to pay 20 per cent VAT.
The change is due to come in in January. But Ms Reeves is expected to confirm that military families, who often have to move countries and homes, will be protected from the change in her Budget.
Ms Reeves has also said she will earmark £1.4 billion to rebuild crumbling schools as she pledges to prioritise education and childcare in the Budget.
There will also be another £1.8 billion to expand government-funded nursery care. Every child over nine months is to become eligible for 30 ‘free’ hours of childcare next September.
Holly Bancroft28 October 2024 07:27 1730097180What to watch out for in the Budget? Winter Fuel Payments
Ministers have announced plans to strip the payments from millions of pensioners by means testing the benefit. But the move has prompted a backlash, amid warnings that some very poor pensioners are set to suffer this winter.
Read more about the pensioners affected by the winter fuel payment cuts here:
The pensioners worst hit by the winter fuel payment cut
Millions of pensioners won’t receive fuel payment help this winter. Holly Bancroft talks to those who will be the most affected
Kate Devlin28 October 2024 06:33 1730092800What to watch out for in the Budget? Inheritance Tax and Fuel Duty
One of the consistently most unpopular taxes, despite being paid by just 4 per cent of the population. Ministers are thought to be planning to raise money from inheritance tax, possibly by making changes to a series of exemptions.
Ministers are also facing calls not to increase fuel duty, which has not risen in more than a decade.
Holly Bancroft28 October 2024 05:20 1730089860What to watch out for in the Budget? Borrowing
The chancellor Rachel Reeves has changed her rules around debt, to allow her to invest in major projects. This is expected to give her up to an extra £50bn of borrowing to invest in infrastructure building such as roads, railways and hospitals.
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King says extra borrowing could have an impact on interest rates. Asked on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, he said: “Certainly if you borrow more, it doesn’t matter how you dress it up in terms of a different fiscal rule, people know that higher borrowing means higher borrowing, and financial markets and people who lend to the government will demand a slightly higher interest rate to compensate for the higher amount of debt that they’re being asked to finance.
“It doesn’t have to be dramatic, but it certainly will put some upward pressure on long-term interest rates. I don’t think it necessarily affects what the Bank of England does today or even next year, but it certainly will have some upward pressure.
What to watch out for in the Budget? Tax rises
Rachel Reeves is expected to raise employer national insurance payments. Labour has pledged before the election not to raise NI, but the party insists that applied only to employees, not employers.
But critics have accused ministers of breaking their promises and planning to bring in a ‘tax on jobs’.
The chancellor is also thought to be planning to extend a freeze on the point at which people start paying income tax, or have to pay higher rates. Freezing the level means that over time inflation drives more and more people into paying higher rates.
Kate Devlin28 October 2024 03:21 1730082900Four people arrested during pro-Tommy Robinson and anti-racism marches
Four people were arrested on Saturday during far right and anti-racism counter-protests as organiser Tommy Robinson missed his own event after being remanded in custody.
Two arrests took place at the far-right protest organised by Mr Robinson, 41, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, where demonstrators displayed anti-immigration placards.
Around midday, thousands of Mr Robinson’s supporters gathered in central London, marching from Victoria Station to Parliament Square.
Among the messages were signs reading “Two tier Keir fuelled the riots”, alongside calls to “Bring back Rwanda” and “Stop the Boats”. Some demonstrators were seen holding cans and glasses of alcohol.
The Metropolitan Police reported that two individuals from Mr Robinson’s protest were detained on suspicion of breaching Public Order Act conditions and another on a racially aggravated public order charge. Meanwhile, a counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism, encouraged by calls for a “massive anti-fascist demonstration”, saw thousands rallying in the capital.
Read the full story here:
Four people arrested during pro-Tommy Robinson and anti-racism marches
Tommy Robinson spent the protest he had organised being held in remand after he was arrested on Friday
Holly Bancroft28 October 2024 02:35 Newer1 / 5OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
