Chancellor Rachel Reeves used a rare Downing Street address to lay the groundwork for her upcoming Budget, signalling that tough tax decisions lie ahead — but sought to pre-empt backlash by insisting the pressure on public finances “wasn’t our fault”.
In the speech, she said the UK economy was struggling not because of Labour’s policies but because of “longer-term factors” such as Brexit, decades of Tory austerity and rising global borrowing costs. “We must deal with the world as it is, not how we wish it could be,” she said.
Ms Reeves presented her forthcoming fiscal package as a choice between “investment and hope, or cuts and division”. She said she would do “what is right rather than what is popular”, placing emphasis on protecting the NHS, reducing national debt and improving the cost of living. But she also acknowledged that the measures required could mean pain for taxpayers — in particular the “wealthy” and property-owners — and carry consequences “for years to come”.
With the public finances projected to be weaker than expected, analysts estimate she may need to raise around £20 billion to £30 billion in additional revenue, despite last year’s historic tax rises.
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