Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled that her 26 November Budget will ask more Britons to shoulder the burden of repairing the nation’s public finances — even if that means breaking Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax.
In a speech this week, Reeves warned that “hard choices” were unavoidable if Britain was to protect the NHS, reduce national debt and keep inflation under control. Her language marked a shift from earlier assurances that only those with the “broadest shoulders” would face higher taxes.
“If we are to build the future of Britain together, we will all have to contribute,” she said. “When that requires hard choices, we will act guided by the interests of working people.”
While the Chancellor maintained that fairness would underpin her fiscal plans, her remarks were widely interpreted in Westminster as preparing voters for a broader tax rise that could affect millions of middle-income workers.
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