Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she will make “necessary choices” in the Budget after the “world has thrown more challenges our way”.
In an unusual pre-Budget speech in Downing Street, Reeves did not rule out a U-turn on Labour’s general election manifesto pledge not to hike income tax, VAT or National Insurance.
When journalists explicitly asked if the government was set to break that pledge she did not answer directly but said she was “setting the context for the Budget”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the speech was “one long waffle bomb” which had left business leaders “none the wiser”.
She added that the chancellor “does not need to put up taxes”, and should copy Conservative policies like scrapping stamp duty to “stimulate” the economy.
South Yorkshire’s Chambers of Commerce warns the Chancellor that businesses can’t take more tax hikes. There is fear amongst economists that increasing taxes will not help economical growth. Read more from BBC >
