Tom Smith of the Tony Blair Institute, said:

In other words, this Budget is not a plan for growth.

Has Rachel Reeves’ Budget left you worse off? Our budget calculator will let you know if you type in your details here

The Lib Dems branded the Budget as an “assault on the squeezed middle” as the party highlighted forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility that one in four workers will pay the higher or additional rate of income tax by 2030-31.

Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “This Budget was an assault on the squeezed middle.

“This Labour government is abandoning the very voters who put them into power and hammering them with years more of unfair tax hikes.

“There’s an easy way to get out this vicious cycle and give people hope: go for growth through a much closer trade deal with the EU, including a customs union to tear up red tape and back British businesses.”

The average household will be “£850 worse off (2%) in 2029-30 than 2024-25 but higher-income households will now bear the brunt of the decline”, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Those “in the highest income third will be the worst off over this parliament, seeing their income fall by £2,230”.

Lifting the two-child benefits cap “more than halves the decline in living standards for the poorest third of households”.

See Dennis Reed, director of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, reaction to the budget.

Here’s his response below:

Students face a £7.4billion “hidden” graduate tax in the Budget, with the plan 2 repayment threshold being frozen for three years.

It means that by 2030, every working graduate, including those on minimum wage will start paying loan repayments at 9 per cent.

Neil O’Brien, the Conservatives Shadow Minister for Policy, said the tax was “snuck out in the fine print” and was the “second budgget tax increase in the budget”.

The change will mean that interest rates on student loans will not fall alongside other interest rates and inflation, and is expected to raise £400million in the first year.

Rachel Reeves has broken Labour’s manifesto commitment on taxes with her decision to freeze income tax thresholds, an influential economic think tank has said.

Labour promised in the run-up to the 2024 general election not to raise taxes on working people, ruling out an increase in national insurance, the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, and VAT.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the Chancellor has “found a way to cobble together a sizeable package without increasing the main rates of national insurance contributions, VAT or income tax”.

But the think tank added: “Because it includes a freeze in national insurance thresholds, it also breaches the Government’s manifesto tax promise not to increase national insurance – as does the cap on salary sacrifice.

“And, as the Chancellor acknowledged, it clearly represents a tax rise on working people.”

Rachel Reeves declined to rule out another tax-raising Budget.

After her first Budget, which increased levies by £40 billion, she said she would not come back for more, only to add £26 billion of taxes today.

Asked if she could reassure people she would not be coming back for more tax again, she said: “I can’t write future budgets, but if you are asking ‘is this a Budget I wanted to deliver today’ well, I would have rather the circumstances were different.

“But as Chancellor, I don’t get to choose my inheritance and I have to live in the world as it is, not the one that I might like it to be.

“And I believe that I made the fair and the necessary choices given the fiscal circumstances.”

Shanker Singham of the Growth Foundation warned:

This Budget tinkers at the edges of revenue enhancements which are relatively small and which impose significant GDP per capita losses going forward. Rachel Reeves has ignored the elephant in the room which is the massive negative GDP per capita impact of the Government’s energy policy and labour market policies (such as the Employment Rights Bill) whose impacts dwarf the minor gains she seeks to eke out. This Treasury zero-sum thinking is doing real damage to the Prime Minister’s growth objectives for the British economy. Continued static growth will drown the UK in a sea of red ink.

The Chancellor has denied breaking Labour’s manifesto promises by freezing income tax thresholds.

Asked how she could remain in her job after making the freeze, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has said effectively breaks Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise headline taxes on working people, Rachel Reeves replied: “In the manifesto, we were very clear it was the rates of income tax, national insurance and VAT.

“But I’m not going to get into semantics. I recognise that we are asking people to contribute more by freezing those allowances.

“They were already frozen by the previous government from 2021 to 2028 and we’re freezing them for a further three years.

“I do recognise that I was asking ordinary people to pay a little bit more, but I’ve managed to keep that contribution as low as I possibly can by closing loopholes and asking those with the broadest shoulders to pay more.”

Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “If you look at the back of that red book, I think you’ll find about 43 different tax increases.

“It has been this smorgasbord that’s turned out to be a bit of a dog’s breakfast, in which she’s had to straddle around and put up all sorts of different taxes and these are ultimately going to be borne by hardworking people up and down the country.”

Sir Mel called on Ms Reeves to resign, saying her position was “untenable” because she had “clearly” broken her promise not to extend the income tax threshold freeze.

“They have got to be accountable for what they are doing now, and that is taking the wrong choices, not getting on top of spending, particularly welfare spending, and as a consequence loading up the economy with yet further taxes and breaking the commitments that they made in the manifesto and after that last budget.”

Rachel Reeves is now giving a press conference at a hospital in central London.

She said: “I delivered my Budget earlier today and it was a Budget to cut the cost of living, to cut the debt and borrowing and crucially to cut NHS waiting lists.”

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith called today “the most shambolic Budget process in history” as he spoke outside the House of Commons.

Mr Griffith called the Budget “quite disappointing”, adding: “There’s nothing in today’s Budget I think that’s going to project vision, optimism.”

He said: “Business confidence has been on the floor for months. The people are on their knees.”

When asked about the likelihood of this being Rachel Reeves’ last Budget, he said: “On behalf of businesses across the country and my constituents, I think they would hope it is.”

Age UK took aim at the decision to extend the income tax threshold freeze.

Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: “The Government’s decision to freeze the income tax personal allowance for a further three years will drag more older people into paying income tax, including some on low and modest incomes who need all the help they can get to sustain a decent standard of living at a time when prices for essentials are constantly rising.

“The announcement is deeply regrettable for this reason, made worse by the fact it is for a whole three years, even if its impact may in part be offset by the rise in the state pension as a result of the triple lock – a policy that is more important than ever for pensioners now.

“The announcement that the Government will explore ways of ensuring those who receive only the old basic state pension or the new state pension do not have to submit a simplified tax return is however a welcome recognition that older people who are digitally excluded and on a low income would be likely to struggle to comply with this process.

“We are keen to hear more as simply sending older people a tax bill and expecting them to pay up on demand would be unthinkable.”

Nigel Farage predicted that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will be forced to resign “perhaps before too long”.

Asked about calls for the Chancellor to go, the Reform leader said: “It doesn’t make much difference does it really.

“I think probably the Prime Minister’s position is very deeply under threat. It’s clear, neither of them have ever been loved by their own backbenches, they’re leading their party to disaster, they’re collapsing in the polls, the Left are beginning to organise, a large chunk of their votes have come to us since the election.

“You’ve never seen a government in so much trouble so I think my prediction is at some point they’ll all be forced to resign perhaps before too long.”

Nigel Farage has called for a “dramatic rethink” of the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

He said: “I’m struggling to see their relevance. I mean who produces the Budget? Is it the Chancellor with her department working with the Treasury?

“This was very much a George Osborne idea that if we had the OBR it would give us fiscal responsibility. Well let’s have a think about that shall we?

“It doesn’t appear to be working. At least a dramatic rethink.”

Nigel Farage said Rachel Reeves’s Budget was an “assault on aspiration”.

The Reform leader said: “Working people are going to be subsidising a welfare bill that shows no sign of going down whatsoever.

“The Rachel Reeves version of abolishing the two-child cap will cost over £3 billion. Our plan to get rid of it for working British couples would have cost a mere £300 million every year.

“And if you look at the projections they quite clearly admit that net migration by the end of this Parliament will go up to over a third of a million every year, and on net zero there is absolutely no acceptance from this Government whatsoever of the vast damage that net zero is doing.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is giving a press conference with his reaction to the Chancellor’s Budget.

He said: “One thing that was very clear to me watching the Budget was that we are in an economic doom loop and no one seems to recognise it, neither the last Conservative government nor this Labour Government.

“There isn’t really much truth being spoken about how much trouble we’re in. But there was one absolute truth that came from Rachel Reeves this morning and that was that this Government had a very bad inheritance.”

The Liberal Democrats hit out at the Government for refusing to row back on the inheritance tax raid on farmers.

The party’s environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: “It’s outrageous that the Chancellor is doubling down on the government’s betrayal of family farms today.

“Tinkering around the edges of the family farm tax will do nothing to reduce the devastating impact on many family businesses and will lead to many closing their farm gates for the last time.

“Thousands of farmers have travelled down to Westminster today to plead for the Chancellor’s support – and this Government has shamefully turned their back on them.”

Christian McBride MBE, founder of Genuine Solutions and Amigo Ventures, has responded to the budget. He said: “The constant shifts to pensions, National Insurance, incentives, and tax rules make long-term planning almost impossible.”Every tweak hits cashflow immediately, leaving too many small businesses firefighting instead of focusing on growth.”It feels like the Government is fighting with small businesses – adding new curveballs for us to navigate every year – rather than helping us.”Rachel Reeves said in her Budget that ‘a strong economy needs stability’. Yes, that’s exactly what we need, not another year of recalibrating our plans because the rules changed overnight.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s speech was hit with chaos when the Office for Budget Responsibility published its forecasts online before she had even started speaking.

Richard Hughes of the OBR said:

Former prime minister Liz Truss said “the doom loop continues” in a video posted on X.

Callum Price of the Institute of Economic Affairs condemns the ‘mess of painful tax rises’ in Rachel Reeves’s Budget:

Independent Age chief executive Joanna Elson said: “The Autumn Budget should have been the time to address pensioner poverty, but the UK Government has missed an opportunity to tackle an issue that affects almost two million older people.

“While we welcome the continuation of the triple lock, this alone does not go far enough in supporting older people on the lowest incomes who are not washing to save on water, seeking out warmth in public places and limiting themselves to just one small meal a day. ”

In a post on X, Kemi Badenoch said: “Rachel Reeves has broken her promises not to put up taxes. And all to fund more welfare. She should resign. But if she doesn’t have the decency to do that, Keir Starmer should sack her.”

Karl Mason of UK Spirits Alliance is deeply disappointed:

Responding to the Budget, Sam Richards, CEO of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said:

Laurence Field of tax firm Crowe describes the extent of the whack taxpayers have taken:

in response to the government’s mansion tax announcement, Simon Brown, CEO, Landmark Information Group said:

“Any property tax that rises steeply with value risks slowing the housing market at a particularly delicate time. We know from our data that affordability pressures and slow transaction times are already constraining activity. Adding new costs at the higher end of the market could discourage downsizing, keep larger family homes off the market and reduce overall mobility.

“A well-designed property tax should support a healthy flow of transactions and help strengthen, not stall, activity across the wider housing market. For the government to achieve its goals without dampening consumer and industry confidence, this new system must be implemented transparently and underpinned by accurate, up-to-date valuation data.”

Musa Sabo of Andersen LLP does not hold back:

Vote in our poll on whether Sir Keir Starmer should sack Rachel Reeves after the Budget.

The Policy Exchange think tank warned that this Budget “could be even more damaging than the last”.

Ben Ramanauskas, Senior Research Fellow in Economics, said: “The increase in public spending has seen the Chancellor introduce a hodgepodge of taxes and freezing income tax thresholds in a desperate attempt to raise revenue.

“These tax hikes will see working people paying more tax, stifle growth, and could raise less revenue than claimed by the Treasury, meaning that the Chancellor would be forced to come back next year with even more tax rises.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The Chancellor’s budget benefits bonanza will be paid for by hard-working taxpayers through their incomes, pensions, property, savings and beyond.

“The pettiness of this government and its unquenchable thirst for cash even extends to milkshakes. And the catastrophic content of this budget is only matched by the utter shambles that has been the process, capped off by the extraordinary leak from the OBR.

“Rachel Reeves needs to urgently change course, by drastically reducing the benefits bill, bringing in targeted, growth-generating tax cuts and deregulating the economy. We are now dangerously close to the cliff edge.”

Kemi slams Reeves for “wallowing in self-pity”.

“We’ve been fed puff pieces in the Times and FT showing a woman wallowing in self-pity, whining about ‘mansplaining’ and ‘misogyny’.

“Let me explain to the Chancellor woman-to-woman, people out there aren’t complaining because she’s female, they’re complaining because she’s utterly incompetent.

“Real equality means being held to the same standard as everyone else.

“She says she wants people to respect her. Respect is earned.

“She apparently told Labour MPs this week ‘I’ll show the media, I’ll show the Tories, I will not let them beat me’.

“Show us what? Making stuff up at the dispatch box, incompetence, chaos, and the highest tax burden in history.

“She said to them ‘I’ll be there on Wednesday, I’ll be there next year, and I’ll be back the year after that’

“God help us!

“She is spineless, shameless and completely aimless!”

Kemi says Reeves is turning the UK into a “shambolic laughing stock” among international investors.

“She has become the first Chancellor in history to release the Budget ahead of time.

“This is extraordinary. It tells you everything you need to know about her grip on the Treasury.

“If she doesn’t resign for breaking her promises she should sure as hell go for this.”

Kemi highlights the OBR analysis of inflation which says it’s up.

“She’s paying more to borrow than Greece. She’s paying more to borrow than at any point in the 14 years of Conservative government. Perhaps if Labour MPs read a book sometime they would know something.

“That includes an energy crisis sparked by a war in Ukraine and a global pandemic.

“What’s her excuse?! She is taking the public for fools. But they are under no illusions whose fault this is.”

“She has chosen to put up tax after tax after tax; taxes on workers, taxes on savers, taxes on pensioners, taxes on investors, taxes on holidays, cars, I think even milkshakes.

“Taxes on anyone doing the right thing.

“She and this government have lost what little credibility they had left and no one will ever trust her again.”

Kemi: Household income is down, borrowing goes up every year.

“Labour are hiking taxes to pay for welfare.

“This is a Budget for benefit street paid for by working people.”

Kemi says Reeves is taxing hard-working Brits to pay for handouts to keep Labour backbenchers quiet.

Kemi Badenoch congratulates Reeves for delivering her second Budget, adding she hopes she enjoyed it “as it should be her last”.

“It’s a total humiliation – last year she put up taxes by £40bn, the biggest tax rise in history, she promised she wouldn’t come back for more.

“Today she’s broken every single one of those promises.

“If she had any decency she would resign.”

Kemi says Reeves will go down as the country’s “worst ever chancellor.”

Rachel Reeves has finished delivering her Budget – took around one hour.

Kemi Badenoch up in a minute for the Tory response

Farmers have continued to protest near Parliament while Rachel Reeves’s unveiled her Budget.

Here is a snap of Lib Dem environmental spokesman Tim Farron speaking to demonstrators.

Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The Chancellor has picked a side.

“Health workers, engineers, and tanker drivers will pay by stealth taxes, while city bankers and billionaires are unscathed.”

Moazzam Malik of Save the Children UK said:

Mark Russell of the Children’s Society said:

Reeves says she’s investing in energy, including nuclear, and in making homes more fuel efficient.

She’s scrapping the previous government’s energy eco scheme.

For every family she says she’s keeping her promise to get energy bills down, by £150 on average from April next year.

The Chancellor has announced a new property tax for homes worth more than £2 million.

But even if that doesn’t apply to you, you should expect higher bills – with the Treasury assuming fees will rise by 5% each year, even though the target rate of inflation is 2%.

The OBR has confirmed today that inflation will be 0.4 percentage points lower next year.

Though it will still be way above what the Tories left her, and much higher than the Bank of England target

Robert Marchant of tax firm Crowe comments:

Reeves announces the extension of the bus fare cap, freezing prescription charges, and freezing rail fares.

The basic state pension is going up by 4.8%; the minimum wage is going up again by 8.5% for 18-20 year olds.

The temporary 5p cut to fuel duty is also being extended until 2026.

She’s also bringing in new rules for petrol forecourts to share real-time fuel prices accessible to motorists via a website.

Rachel Reeves announces she is abolishing the two-child benefit cap for Universal Credit.

She says she got into politics to help children and lift people out of poverty.

“I don’t intend to preside over a status quo that punishes children for the circumstances of their birth”.

She says it pushes kids into poverty “more than any other”.

Huge cheers from Labour MPs as she confirms: “I can announce today fully costed and fully funded the removal of the two-child limit in full from April.”

Reeves says this Labour government is achieving the biggest reduction in child poverty since records began.

Axing the two-child benefit cap, which limits Universal Credit payments for people on low incomes with larger families, will cost £3 billion and cut child poverty.

The limit restricted the UC child element, which is currently £3,500 per year for second and subsequent children, to two children per family apart from children born prior to 6 April

2017 and those who meet certain exemption criteria.

The OBR says its removal costs £2.3 billion in 2026- 27 and £3.0 billion in 2029-30 (Table 3.2).9

In 2029-30, because of the policy, an estimated 560,000 families see an increase in UC award averaging £5,310 per year. The Government estimates that this measure will reduce child poverty by 450,000 by 2029-30, relative to the level had the two-child limit remained in place.

Rachel Reeves tells Parliament she has not increased National Insurance. However the OBR says her changes to the way pension contributions are taxed, limiting “salary sacrifice” schemes, means National Insurance paid by working people will rise by £3.5 billion

The planned duty rise for tobacco duty will go ahead, with alcohol duty going up by inflation.

Vaping duties and soft drinks levies are also going up.

She’s reforming gambling taxes. Increasing remote gaming duty from 21% to 40%.

Onling betting goes up from 15% to 25%.

It makes no change to in-person gambling or horse racing.

She’s abolishing bingo duty entirely from next April.

This raises £1bn per year by 2031.

Vehicle taxes will be reformed.

She confirms an electric vehicle excise duty on 3p per mile for electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids. This is the so-called ‘pay-per-mile’ scheme.

The expensive car supplement on electric vehicles is being increased to £50,000.

The electric car grant is being extended.

£200mn confirmed to accelerate the rollout of EV charges, and business relief for EV charging points.

She confirms the ‘taxi tax’ will come into force, removing taxis from exemptions. This could hike costs for passengers.

Reeves is backing pubs and venues to stay open later.

Business rates will be permanently lowered for over 750,000 businesses, paid for by higher rates on properties worth over £500,000 like Amazon warehouses.

To support a level playing field in retail, she’ll ensure customs duty applies on parcels of any value.

This is believed to be the moment Rachel Reeves discovered the accidental release of the budget by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

While Rachel Reeves insists she has to put up taxes because of “austerity” and Brexit, she’s also spending lots of our money.

This includes £1.8 billion on Labour’s digital ID card scheme. The OBR said: “The implementation of digital ID cards is provisionally forecast to cost £1.8 billion in total over the next three years”

Rachel Reeves confirms she’s freezing personal tax thresholds – for Income and NICs – from 2028 to 2031.

She’ll also freeze the student loan repayment threshold for plan 2.

She says she’s pairing this pain with reforms to the tax system.

Reeves says she’s applying NICs to dividend and savings income, hiking rates on landlords, by 2%.

She claims 90% of savers won’t pay any tax.

The Chancellor is hiking taxes on the wealthiest.

After last year’s grabs on private equity, schools and jets; she’s going further.

A band D home in Darlington pays just under £2,400 in council house, hundreds more than a million pound home in Mayfair.

She’s introducing a new £2,500 charge for properties worth more than £2m, rising to £7,000 on homes worth over £5m.

The new surcharge will raise over £400m by 2031.

Taxes are rising on salary sacrifice for pensions, which is set to treble in cost from 2.8bn in 2017 to 8bn to 2030.

So she’s introducing a £2,000 cap on salary sacrifice from 2029.

She says these changes will see receipts increase from £14bn to £30bn by 2030.

The OBR says: “Demand for asylum accommodation has also grown and is now expected to cost £15.3 billion over the next 10 years, revised up from the Home Office’s previous estimate of £4.5 billion.”

Simon Gleeson, a Partner at Blick Rothenberg, gives a dmaning assessment of Rachel Reeves’s Budget:

Reeves addresses cost of welfare system, rising by £88bn under the last Tory government

She says the broken system wrote off millions as too sick to work. She insists she’ll reform the system, despite failing last year.

Changes to UC will get 15,000 back into work.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn will look into rising youth inactivity.

She announces funding to make training for under-25 apprenticeships completely free for SMEs.

£120mn over the next three years, guaranteeing every young person a place in college, apprenticeship or personalised job support.

Reeves is reforming Motability, removing luxury vehicles from their scheme.

She’s also reforming the system that allowed thousands of people living abroad to buy their way into the state pension scheme for as little as £3.5 a week.

She will increase the amount of time someone must live in Britain before having access to 10 years, and increase the amount they must pay.

The RAC states:

Reeves says the introduction of digital ID will ‘break the link between illegal migration and illicit working’.

She will better enforce the minimum wage and increase scrutiny of the gig economy.

Reeves says further steps to crack down on tax avoidance will raise £10 billion by 2030.

She will root out fraud and error and root out people receiving public cash who are not entitled to it.

She says her Covid fraud commissioner has recovered over £400 million.

After months of speculation, the government has today confirmed that Cash ISA limits will be cut to just £12,000, down from their current £20,000, as of April 2027.

But the new rules will not apply to those aged over 65, with special rules to keep the current £20,000 Cash ISA annual deposit limit in place specifically for state pensioners and those aged over 65.

Reeves says AI and automation will provide efficiency savings.

She says she’s finding a further £4.9 billion.

By cutting Police and Crime Commissioners, cutting the cost of local government and selling off government businesses.

She says the savings in the NHS will be reinvested into the health services.

Reeves says she’ll deliver over 100 community health hubs by 2030 to reduce pressure on the NHS

Rachel Reeves says she’s going further on the miners’ pension fund.

She announces she will transfer the investment reserve fund of the coal fund superannuation scheme to its members so the men and women who worked in the coal industry get a “fair retirement”

On infected blood compensation, Rachel Reeves says she’s exempting all payments from the scheme from inheritance tax.

Reeves highlights the new 5.2m new appointments delivered since the general election.

On education, the Cx says she’s providing £5mn for libraries in secondary schools. This is in addition to the commitment at Labour conference to ensure there’s one in every single Primary school

There’s also £18mn to improve playgrounds in England.

The OBR says Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut asylum spending by £1.1 billion is a fantasy – and spending on hotels etc will actually be £1.4bn MORE than planned.

It said: “Spending on asylum accommodation: The Home Office Spending Review settlement was made on the basis that the Home Office would fully stop the use of hotels for asylum-seekers in this Parliament, and asylum spending would be £1.1 billion lower at £2.5 billion in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26 plans.

“So far this year, the number of migrants arriving by small boat and asylum seekers in supported accommodation has risen by 19 and 8 per cent, respectively, compared to last year. If spending on asylum remained at its 2024-25 level, this would imply £1.4 billion of additional pressure on the Home Office budget by 2028-29.”

Rachel Reeves’s changes to salary sacrifice pension schemes have set alarms ringing.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown warned:

Taxes are to reach their highest level ever since the Second World War, thanks to new increases announced by Rachel Reeves in her Budget today. They include a £15 billion increase in income tax, thanks to her decision to extend the freeze on tax thresholds. The Chancellor’s tax hikes also include a £4.7 billion increase in taxes paid on pension contributions, by changes to a scheme called salary sacrifice.

And the result is the highest tax burden since the war. Watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility said: “The tax-to-GDP ratio is forecast to increase to a post-war high of 38.3 per cent of GDP in 2030-31, largely due to policy changes announced at this Budget and over the past few years.” GDP is the UK’s total economic output.

Reeves claims she’s set to reduce debt more than any other G7 country, according to forecasts.

Reeves says she will get borrowing and debt down.

One in every £10 currently spent by the government goes on servicing UK debt.

She says her fiscal rules are non-negotiable and have been met by today’s Budget.

The current Budget balance is in debt by billions until 2028.

However, it will move into a surplus after this, rising to £24.6bn by 2030/31.

This will more than double the fiscal headroom a year early.

She claims the national debt will also fall by the end of the forecast.

Rachel Reeves says the leader of the Green Party is a remarkable hypnotherapist, but the only things getting bigger under his approach would be debt and the rate of inflation

The reduction in the amount you can save in a cash ISA has triggered dismay.

Harriet Guevera, Chief Saving Officer at Nottingham Building Society, said:

Reeves is devolving tax rights to Metro Mayors.

This includes retained business rates for Leeds, £20mn for the new Peterborough for the new sports quarter, and a new science centre in Darlington.

They’re also providing £370mn for the NI executive, £505mn for Wales, and £820mn for the Scottish government through the Barnett Formula.

NI is also getting £17mn to support businesses.

Wales will host two new AI growth zones, 8000 jobs and a £10mn investment.

And the world’s first small modular nuclear reactors in Anglesey.

Reeves appears very keen to highlight this ahead of next May’s local elections…

Cash ISA savers are being urged to consider alternative options for their money as a cut to limits to just £12,000 has been announced by Rachel Reeves today.

Under the new rules, savers will still be able to put £20,000 a year into tax-free ISAs like they can now, but Cash ISAs will be limited to just £12,000, instead of the full £20k. Those wanting to use the full £20k allowance will have to put the other £8,000 into a Stocks and Shares ISA instead.

Matthew Ryan of Ebury comments:

Reeves says she will continue to invest in capital spending to boost growth and productivity.

The Cx says she’ll maintain the £120bn of investment provided at the spending review.

This will go on transport, energy and housing.

She says as they allocate infrastructure, that will now go to the Lower Thames crossings, the Midlands hub, the northern growth corridor, the cross-penine upgrades and the Northern Powerhouse rail.

She welcomes John Finkleton’s report into cutting red tape in the nuclear industry.

Reeves is widening eligibility for scale-up initiatives for innovative small businesses.

She says she wants innovators to stay here in Britain as they grow and scale up.

It includes a 3 year exemption for stamp duty relief tax for companies that decide to stay and list in Britain.

She says message to world is “if you build here, we will back you.”

Matthew Allen, an economist at the University of Salford, says:

Reeves is reforming ISAs. Keeping full £20,000 allowance but with £8,000 designated for full investment.

Over 65s will be able to keep the full £20,000 cash allowance.

She says she’s doing this because low-risk investments are losing Britons money

Reeves has blamed the downgraded productivity growth on austerity, Brexit and the pandemic.

The OBR is cutting growth forecasts by 0.3 percentage points to 1% by the end of the forecasts.

Real GDP set to grow by less due to the lower productivity growth.

It also wipes out £16bn in tax receipts by 2030

Reeves claims she’s defied the forecasts on Growth.

The OBR has upgraded UK Growth in 2025 from 1% to 1.5%.

The mansion tax plans have produced outrage.

Scott Clay, director at Together described it as an “unfair ‘privilege’ tax for homeowners with properties worth £2 million plus, who will now have to pay an annual charge, for the home they already own. If the goal was to make winter feel even harsher, mission accomplished.”

He added:

Reeves says Growth “doesn’t just appear out of thin air”. It comes from risk-takers, founders, firms creating new technology and jobs, by hard-working Britons.

“Our job is not to watch from the sidelines but to partner with them.”

Reeves insists ‘no return to austerity’.

Budget maintains investment in the economy and the NHS, and will bring down inflation and provide “immediate relief for families”.

She says today’s Budget will see borrowng fall as a share of GDP in every year of this forecast.

It will more than double her fiscal headroom to £21.7 billion, meeting her relevant fiscal rule a year early.

Growth in real household disposable income per person is projected to fall from 3 per cent in 2024-25 to around ¼ per cent a year.

Weaker medium -term real wage growth and rising taxes explain the slower growth, watchdog the OBR says.

Reeves says today’s Budget builds on the choices she’s made since last July.

Cut waiting lists, cut the cost of living, and cut debt and borrowing.

She says she’s yet to see a credible or fairer alternative plan for working people.

“These are my choices, the right choices, for a fairer and more secure Britain.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her Budget.

Opposition MPs are heckling with calls of ‘resign’ over the Budget leaks.

They are joking “we’ve already read it!” as she delivers her Budget

Labour is to bring in a cap on salary sacrifice schemes in the Autumn Budget. Pension contributions through salary sacrifice above £2,000 a year will no longer be exempt from National Insurance contributions. The changes will come in from April 2029.

Drivers of battery electric cars will be hit by a 3p per mile tax from April 2028, with the charge to rise annually with inflation, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Electric car drivers will pay £225 a year in a Rachel Reeves’s new pay-per-mile scheme.

We are rebuilding our economy; overhauled planning system; forged trade deals; reformed visa system; changed fiscal rules; raised public investment to highest level in four decades.

She says she used last year’s tax rises to fund biggest ever settlement for the NHS.

Rachel Reeves is up – we can only guess what she’s about to announce…

The publication of the OBR analysis has allowed the Conservatives to have gone through Rachel Reeves’s plans. A Tory insider says:

Rachel Reeves said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) leak is “deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part”.

She said: “It is my understanding that the OBR’s economic and financial outlook was released on their website before this statement.

“This is deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part. The OBR have already made a statement, taking full responsibility for their breach.”

The deputy Speaker has slammed the number of Treasury leaks, saying they reached an “unprecedented high” ahead of this Budget.

Nus Ghani fumed: “This all falls short of standards that the House expects.”

She says leaks of a Budget are a “supreme discourtesy” to MPs.

He says there has been an “unprecedented leak” of the OBR’s forecast with market sensitive information. He says it is “utterly outrageous”.

The deputy Speaker says that for a number of weeks there have been “extensive briefings” to the media. She says this and the publication of the OBR analysis “fall short” of standards.

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride demands a leak inquiry into the OBR early publication of their Budget analysis.

He says the leak could constitute a “criminal act”

National Insurance will be charged on salary-sacrificed pension contributions above an annual £2,000 threshold from April 2029, raising £4.7 billion, the Office for Budget Responsibility said.

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith has condemned the OBR for failing to take into account the financial impact of Labour’s Employment Rights Bill in this year’s Budget analysis.

The OBR previously said they would consider its impacts in their next forecasts.

Griffith says it raises questions about the independence of the OBR.

A mansion tax on homes worth more than £2million has been unveiled in a fresh raid on Britain’s wealthiest property owners.

In a move certain to trigger uproar in affluent suburbs and prime London postcodes, a leaked OBR document shows that owners of high-value homes will be hit with a council tax surcharge if their properties are valued over £2million. The move is expected to raise £0.4billion.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has apologised and launched an investigation after its economic and fiscal outlook document was published early ahead of the Budget, describing it as a “technical error”.

Petrol and diesel owners will enjoy a fuel duty freeze for another 10 months. The decision will mean petrol and diesel duty rates remain at 52.95p per litre until September 2026, in a boost to road users.

Millions of drivers will be hit with new pay-per-mile car tax fees as Rachel Reeves prepares to confirm the move in her Autumn Budget. The Chancellor will announce that electric car owners will be hit with a per-mile charge from 2028 in a major overhaul.

Nigel Farage is in the Commons beside his deputy Richard Tice and fellow MP Sarah Pochin.

The entire UK looks foolish as the Chancellor’s Budget is published early by mistake, and it will cost us all.

Read Jon Walker’s full analysis here

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride is scribbling notes. No doubt drafting a response to the figures in the prematurely published OBR forecasts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has leaked Rachel Reeves’s Budget measures before the Chancellor was set to make her speech at 12.30pm on Wednesday. From frozen thresholds to mansion taxes. Here are 11 tax bombshells from Rachel Reeves’ leaked Budget measures from the OBR:

A set of personal tax changes which increase receipts by £14.9 billion in 2029-30, including:

freezing personal tax and employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) thresholds for three years from 2028-29, which raises £8.0 billion;

charging NICs on salary-sacrificed pensions contributions, raising £4.7 billion; and

increasing the tax rates on dividends, property and savings income by 2 percentage points, raising £2.1 billion.

Other tax changes increase receipts by £11.2 billion in 2029-30. These include:

a reduction to the writing down allowance main rate in corporation tax, which raises £1.5 billion;

a new mileage-based charge on battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars from April 2028, raising £1.4 billion;

reforms to the taxation of gambling, which raises £1.1 billion;

Reduced capital gains tax relief on disposals to employee ownership trusts, which raises £0.9 billion;

a high-value council tax surcharge on properties worth over £2 million, raising £0.4 billion;

tax administration, compliance and debt collection measures, which raise £2.3 billion;

These tax rises are partially offset by a freeze on fuel duty for a further five months, followed by staged increases from September 2026, costing £2.4 billion next year and £0.9 billion each year thereafter; and

A range of other tax measures, including the introduction of the Sizewell C regulated asset base (RAB) levy, collectively raise an additional £4.4 billion.

Debt is set to rise from 95% of GDP this year to 96.1% by the end of the decade, according to Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.

Responding to the accidental release of Budget documents, former Cabinet minister Michael Gove called it the “longest suicide note in history”.

Rachel Reeves’ ‘make or break’ Budget will result in lower than projected growth across the UK for four years as Labour’s financial credentials took yet another hit.

The OBR has increased its forecast for economic growth this year from 1% to 1.5% but downgraded its forecasts for the following four years.

The Office for Budget Responsibility said the freeze in tax thresholds would result in 780,000 more basic-rate, 920,000 more higher-rate and 4,000 more additional-rate income tax payers in 2029/30.

Rachel Reeves will retain the 5p cut in fuel duty until September 2026, when it will be reversed through a staggered approach, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

In the leaked OBR documents, it’s thought that Reeves’ freeze on income tax thresholds will gather a whopping £8.3billion for the government.

The two-child benefit cap is being removed at an estimated cost of £3 billion by 2029-30, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Kemi Badenoch said the Governnment looked like a “slow-motion car crash”.

She said: “The most chaotic run-up to a Budget in recent memory is happening on his watch.

“Even the Chief Whip is telling MPs that he wants out. The truth is simple, his MPs don’t trust him, the markets don’t trust him and the public certainly don’t trust him. When will he finally accept that the chaos starts and ends with him?”

But the Prime Minister insisted in his response that Liz Truss’s was the “most chaotic” Budget.

Screen grab taken from the website of the Office for Budget Responsibility showing their economic and fiscal document, which was published before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget, despite normally releasing it afterwards by convention.

Kemi Badenoch hit out at Sir Keir Starmer after he said he wanted Angela Rayner back in his Cabinet.

The leader of the Opposition said: “We read this weekend that he wants the former deputy prime minister back in his Cabinet. When did the Prime Minister decide that lawbreakers can be lawmakers?”

The Prime Minister said: “While she’s scrolling through Twitter, we’ve delivered rail fares frozen, prescription frozen, the minimum wage boosted. We’re focused on the cost of living, the single most important thing for this country, she’s focusing on tittle-tattle.”

Rachel Reeves’ Budget will extend the existing freezes to personal tax thresholds for another three years until 2030-31, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s published forecast document shows.

Kemi Badenoch pressed Sir Keir Starmer about the briefing war that erupted in No10 over claims Health Secretary Wes Streeting was eyeing a leadership bid.

She said: “Instead of focusing on the economy they’ve been fighting like rats.

“The Prime Minister told us that these briefings did not come from No 10. Will he repeat on the floor of the House the claim that none of his advisers has briefed against members of the Cabinet?”

Sir Keir replied: “I’ve been really clear about this, no one in No 10 has briefed against Cabinet ministers and the Health Secretary is doing a fantastic job.”

The OBR leak seems to suggest that there will be £22billion in fiscal headroom, £26 billion in tax rises and a 3-year freeze to income tax thresholds.

Kemi Badenoch called on Sir Keir Starmer to launch an investigation into Budget leaks.

The Tory leader said: “The Prime Minister doesn’t seem to appreciate the impact of these Budget leaks on the UK economy.

“Even the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has said these leaks are unacceptable. So will the Prime Minister launch an investigation into the Budget leaks and punish those responsible?”

But Sir Keir refused to say whether he would order an investigation into Budget leaks.

Kemi Badenoch said it has been the “most chaotic lead-up to a Budget in living memory” in her first question at PMQs.

The Tory leader said: “This has been the most chaotic lead-up to a Budget in living memory, with resignations, hostile briefings and leaks galore, even just in the last 10 minutes an unprecedented leak of the Office for Budget Responsibility analysis.

“These leaks have been so serious that even the former chief economist of the Bank of England has said, ‘that Labour’s fiscal fandango is the single biggest reason why growth has flatlined’. Does the Prime Minister agree with Andy Haldane and does he have an explanation for this complete shambles?”

Sir Keir Starmer replied: “We all know the biggest shambles in living history, the Liz Truss budget.”

The Office for Budget Responsibility has increased its forecast for economic growth this year from 1% to 1.5% but downgraded its forecasts for the following four years.

Before the Budget there’s Prime Minister’s Questions, and the PM says he knows what it’s like to sit around the kitchen table and worry about bills.

He said: “Today’s Budget will be a Labour Budget with Labour values to deliver for the British people’s priorities.”

Sir Keir Starmer is at the despatch box as PMQs gets underway.

The Office for Budget Responsiblity has published its economic and fiscal document before Rachel Reeves delivers her budget.

This is unprecedented.

Read the full story here

Sir Keir Starmer has been pictured leaving 10 Downing Street ahead of PMQs and the Budget.

It’s a dream of many ambitious MPs to be photographed on Budget Day holding that iconic red box. It has quite a history. As the Parliament website explains:

Most Britons blame Sir Keir Starmer more than Liz Truss for the UK’s economic woes, new polling suggests.

Some 72% believe the Prime Minister is responsible for the state of the public finances compared with 62% for the former Tory premier who quit over her tax-slashing mini-budget.

The figures come from a poll of 2,011 UK adults conducted by Public First between November 17 and 20.

The Metropolitan Police said they had made “several arrests” after farmers drove their tractors to a Budget day protest in central London in defiance of restrictions on bringing agricultural machinery to the demonstration.

The police warned on X that: “Anyone breaching conditions by bringing vehicles, including tractors or agricultural vehicles, to today’s farmers protest will be asked by officers to leave.

“If they refuse to comply with the conditions, officers will have to make arrests for offences under the Public Order Act.”

And the force said: “We have already spoken to a number of individuals this morning to advise them of the conditions.

“The majority have listened to officers and complied with the conditions, however, several arrests have been made.”

Budget Day is the moment when a Chancellor can enjoy something stronger than a glass of water at the despatch box. As the Parliament website explains:

Here’s a clip of Rachel Reeves leaving No11 for the last time before delivering her Budget

Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins slams the Met Police for throwing a budget day farmer protest into chaos.

Watch her slam the force here below:

A farmer dressed as santa has slammed the government at a Budget day protest in London

The Prime Minister opened a meeting of the Cabinet this morning by thanking the Chancellor and her wider team for their work on today’s Budget, Downing Street says.

The Prime Minister said today’s Budget was not a spreadsheet, but a question of choices centred in fairness. Today’s Budget, he added, was about what kind of country we want to live in. He said the fight was between renewal or decline – and this government chose renewal.

The Prime Minister then invited the Chancellor to set out the Budget in more detail to Cabinet. The Chancellor then did so, saying the government was making the fair and necessary choices to strengthen our foundations and drive down the cost of living, according to a Number 10 spokesperson.

Rachel Reeves has posed outside 11 Downing Street ahead of her Budget.

Here’s the full interview with Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice at a farming protest near Parliament.

In a tweet ahead of the Budget, former Tory MP Penny Mordaunt said: “Before the Chancellor gets to her feet huge damage has already been done.

“Money has been taken out of firms and pensions in advance of today. More moving abroad. Revenue and investment lost. Most small firms expect to shrink or close (FSB survey).

“Not only did NICs destroy jobs and training places ideal for those starting in work, but it destroyed many of the charities providing the employment support. Welfare bill soaring.

“No sign the Government understands the impact it is having, including on the way we farm in this country.”

Here’s the readout from this morning’s Cabinet meeting ahead of the Budget:

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has slammed the “outrageous” arrests of farmers at a budget day protest.

Mr Farage said: “The planned farmers’ protest on Whitehall has been cancelled by the police at the last moment. They have come to London and are now being arrested. This is outrageous. Reform UK will provide legal support to every farmer protesting peacefully today.”

Young farmers have arrived in London to protest against Rachel Reeves’s inheritnce tax raid.

One protester holds a sign saying “Fourth generation. Thanks to you, there won’t be a fifth.”

Keir Starmer has fallen to his lowest approval rating ever, according to the latest More in Common poll.

It finds the Prime Minister on -51, the first time it’s dropped below -50.

By contrast Kemi Badenoch is on -22, up slightly.

Ed Davey has dropped to his own new person low of -14, while Nigel Farage remains the most popular party leader on -9.

More in Common found that Reform UK is 30%, unchanged from last year, while Labour is up one point to 21%. Slightly ahead of the Tories’ 19%, and the LibDems’ 14%.

Former Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen has said “In my 15 years as an MP, I have never seen such a chaotic run up to a Budget.

“The Chancellor has repeated her commitments to her self-imposed fiscal rules and her priorities numerous times over the last year, and yet so many kites have been flown and U-turns taken in the months leading up to today’s Budget.

“This has caused significant anxiety for the public and the markets – if she breaks her promises today she will have lost all credibility…”

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride has told us Rachel Reeves should quit if she pulls more people into paying tax.

The Chancellor says her Budget will help people with the cost of living and a big part of that is an increase in the minimum wage for younger workers.

But that isn’t paid by the government – it’s paid by employers. Former Chancellor Philip Hammond claims firms just can’t afford it. He told Sky News: “These continuous increases in minimum wages, which frankly, large parts of industry simply can’t afford.

“Hospitality industry, as a case in point, you know, many people in the hospitality industry earn significant amounts of money from tips, service charges … but they can’t access that unless they’ve got a job at minimum wage.

“And more and more people in the hospitality industry are telling us that they are literally teetering on the brink, that they will not be able to stand another assault.”

Downing Street has posted photos from this morning’s Cabinet meeting, where Rachel Reeves outlined the details of today’s pending Budget measures.

The older you are, the more likely you are to worry Rachel Reeves’s Budget will hurt your finances. This Harris poll breakdown shows pensioners are particularly anxious:

· 88% — age 65+

· 78% — age 55–64

· 74% — age 45–54

· 50% — age 35–44

· 32% — age 25–34

· 27% — age 18–24

Farmers are being arrested on Whitehall by the Met Police, social media footage appears to show.

A video on X shows two officers handcuffing ‘Dave’, standing next to a tractor, while the man filming brands it “absolutely outrageous”.

He claimed that he was nabbed under Section 14 of the public dispersal order put in place last minute last night banning the protest from going ahead.

Read the full story here

One of the country’s most respected economic think tanks issues a stern warning to the Chancellor. David Aikman of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research warns:

Farmer Mark Watler, 50, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, was among campaigners from the National Farmers’ Union gathered in Trafalgar Square.

He said: “The inheritance tax is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re not doing it for the money, it’s a passion. We just want a fair deal.”

He added: “I’ve grown up working on farms from the age of 12. It’s disheartening to see how we’re being treated.”

A remarkable detail about Rachel Reeves’s budget preparations has been revealed in the New Statesman.

It reports: “There has been a concerted effort to bring Labour MPs on side ahead of this high-stakes moment … there have been ‘Budget lessons’, aiming to teach MPs how debt interest works and why borrowing more would result in more money going to US hedge funds. ‘There is nothing progressive about £1 in every ten going on debt interest,’ is the line being drilled into them.”

Rachel Reeves is expected to blame a host of factors for tax hikes but not her own decisions. As The Times puts it:

Here’s today’s new Private Eye cover, hot off the press.

David Gunn, an arable farmer and agricultural contractor from near Sevenoaks in Kent, said he was protesting on Budget day for a number of reasons.

He said: “Inheritance tax is one reason, it’s going to cripple the farmers, the small family farmers.

“There’s all the other taxes they’ve been putting on us, and the prices we get for our produce and what it costs in the shop, we don’t make any money.

“Then there’s food security, farmers are going out of business.”

He said his message to Government was “sort the pledge out”.

“You said in the manifesto you would look after the farmers, which you totally haven’t, you’ve ruined the countryside,” he said.

Rachel Reeves’s rejection of austerity and expected ratcheting up of taxes means there is a clear dividing line running through British politics. As Tory Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride says:

In a post on X, Reform leader Nigel Farage said: “As Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her budget, I wonder how many more young and ambitious people will plan to leave the country by the end of the day.”

Last week, new ONS figures revealed over 270,000 UK nationals emigrated during Labour’s first year in power.

The Chancellor is expected to make changes to a scheme called salary sacrifice – effectively putting up taxes paid on pension contributions.

But this will mean today’s working people have less money when they retire, as we explain here.

Ailbhe Rea has an account of just how tense things have got behind the scenes:

Farmers have parked more than a dozen tractors, brought to Westminster in defiance of Met police restrictions prohibiting agricultural machinery from the area, around Trafalgar Square.

They repeatedly sounded the tractor horns while police stood watching, with rush-hour traffic brought to a standstill.

The Chancellor is reported to be planning a new road pricing scheme, although unlike other tax rises this may involve announcing a consultation today, rather than imposing charges immediately.

But why is she doing it? It’s because the Government’s drive to ensure motorists switch to electric vehicles could actually cost the Treasury billions of pounds.

We have more details here.

What the markets do could determine Rachel Reeves’ political future.

Ministers, including Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood, have begun arriving at Downing Street for a pre-Budget meeting.

Here’s a list of MPs asking Sir Keir Starmer questions

In last year’s Budget speech she made a powerful case for why she wasn’t extending the freeze in the point at which people’s income is taxed (a move that would push people into a higher tax band when they get a pay rise and result in more pensioners being taxed). If she announces today that she is going to extend the freeze then she will be accused of breaking her manifesto pledge not to increase taxes on working people. This is whatshe said last year:

Tyler Carter, 18, from Peterborough, was among farmers gathered in Trafalgar Square protesting about inheritance tax ahead of the Budget.

He held a sign reading “Dear London sorry … I’m here to fight for my future!”

He said: “We’re fighting for our livelihood.”

When asked what the reforms would mean for him, he added: “It means my dad will be out of a job, which means I will be out of a job.

“We have worked hard for what we’ve got and don’t deserve to have it taken off us.”

Questioned on what he would say to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, he responded: “How dare you.”

Rachel Reeves has been warned that Labour will be punished at the ballot box if she betrays pensioners with stealth tax hikes in the budget later. Read more here

A new poll has revealed widespread pessimism among Britons that today’s Budget will hammer their personal finances.

Two thirds expect it to have a negative impact on their personal or household finances.

However there’s a large difference depending on age.

While just 27% of 18-24 year olds expect it to hurt, this rises to a peak of 88% among those aged 65+.

The survey was conducted by consumer research experts The Harris Poll UK, and asked 2,000 UK adults.

The Budget is not about making sure Sir Keir Starmer can fight the next election, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has said.

Darren Jones told Sky News: “We’ve got another three years, probably another three Budgets to go until the 2029 election. This is a Budget dealing with the public’s concerns and the world as we find it.

“The Chancellor’s made no secret of the fact this is a challenging Budget because of what’s going on, whether it’s on the cost of government debt or changing global tariffs and trade and the economy and those types of issues.

“This is a Budget which helps meet the needs of the country and helps deliver on our promise of change.”

Farmers furious at the inheritance tax hikes from last year’s budget have stormed Westminster this morning in tractors – despite the Met Police issuing a ban last night.

Richard Tice backed the farmer protest as tractors descended on Westminster ahead of the Budget.

The Reform deputy leader wrote on X: “Hundreds of huge tractors are already in central London horns blaring lights flashing. Farmers furious at the socialist assault by Labour on British food production.”

Keir Starmer has taken to X to promise that today’s Budget will be about “fair choices”.

The PM posts: “It will focus on your priorities: cutting the cost of living, cutting waiting lists and cutting the national debt.

“This Labour government will deliver strong foundations for our economy and secure our country’s future.”

One of Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers, Darren Jones, has said people in Government have been “read the riot act” over this year’s “unacceptable” leaks about the Budget.

In an astonishingly candid confession, he further specified that those read the riot act have been “parliamentary colleagues”, implying the leaks came from ministers rather than civil servants.

Labour has posted an account of the PM and Chancellor embracing, captioned “Team”.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minster Darren Jones admitted that extending the freeze on income tax thresholds is “practically” a tax rise.

Repeatedly asked on Sky News, he said: “Practically, yes. If they earn more above the threshold than they did before.”

Here’s the choreography for today’s massive moment in SW1:

0900: The Chancellor will lead a meeting of today’s Cabinet outlining the main measures in her Budget

1120: Rachel Reeves will pose with her red box outside the black door of No. 11 Downing Street, before driving the short distance to the Houses of Parliament

1200: Keir Starmer will begin PMQs

1230: Rachel Reeves will stand at the Dispatch Box and deliver the Budget

1330: Kemi Badenoch will respond to the Budget for the Tories

1330: The Budget documents, and OBR forecasts, will be published

1340: Wesminster political journalists will receive a briefing from the Treasury

1430: The OBR will host a press conference

1545: Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will host a ‘town hall’

1600: Nigel Farage will host his own press conference responding to the Budget

1900: Rachel Reeves will likely join Treasury civil servants at a pub for the Chancellor’s usual post-Budget celebratory drink.

Furious farmers have turned up to protest in Westminster this morning, regardless of a last-minute ban put in place by Scotland Yard.

Reform UK’s Richard Tice has posted a snap of tractors on Westminster Bridge, accusing the police of “two tier” behaviour towards farmers compared to pro-Palestine activists.

Here’s a snap of today’s Budget with the Chancellor’s infamous red box.

We should get our hands on the real thing around 12:30pm today.

The Treasury has shared photos of the Chancellor finalising her second Budget, the night before she delivers it.

Rachel Reeves has published a video on social media outlining her aims of today’s Budget, and insisting her first Budget is bearing fruit.

The Chancellor reiterates the aims of her second fiscal event: cutting the cost of living, debt and waiting lists.

She insists her medicine is working, with wages rising faster than inflation, waiting lists coming down and the economy growing.

But she says she knows “there is still more to do”.

“I know people feel frustrated at the pace of change, or angry at the unfairness of our economy.”

She once again blames austerity, Brexit and covid for the problems in the economy.

“This Budget is for you – the British people – so together we can build a fairer, stronger, and more secure Britain.”

TV star Kirstie Allsopp has slapped down Rachel Reeves’s claims that criticism of her is due to “sexism”.

Ms Allsopp told LBC that “it’s rubbish”.

“We’ve had three female Prime Ministers, we’ve had female Home Secretaries, we’ve had female Ambassadors, we’ve had female Foreign Secretaries. We’ve had many, many, many great Queens, but three, absolutely incredible, notable Queens. We are not a country where we have a problem with women having the top jobs.

“This cabinet is rife with people who haven’t had real jobs.”

The Express’s Giles Sheldrick warns that today’s Budget is going to be “grim”, and points out that the bookies think Ms Reeves’ is done for.

Sheldrick writes: “If she does go – either by jumping or by being pushed overboard – Ms Reeves will have few complaints as she has been the architect of her own downfall.

“Most of those watching the horror show unfold in real time will do so through their fingers. Things are already bad but if you thought they couldn’t get any worse, well, think again.”

Hard-pressed businesses have warned that yesterday evening’s minimum wage hike will be passed onto customers as they can no longer absorb the costs.

UKHospitality, a group representing bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes, warned the move will add a whopping £1.4 billion in new costs for the already struggling industry.

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith agreed, telling the Express it is a “kick in the teeth” for the industry.

Analysis shows pensioners will be £800 a year worse off if Rachel Reeves extends the income tax threshold freeze at today’s Budget.

The Chancellor is widely expected to extend the measure by another two years to 2030.

According to research by the House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, the move would cost pensioners around £7 billion a year in 2029 and 2030.

Separate analysis shows that more than half a million extra pensioners will be dragged into the tax net under Ms Reeve’s plans.

Police have banned farmers from bringing their tractors to a protest on Budget Day in Westminster against proposed inheritance tax changes.

The Metropolitan Police said following conversations with protest organisers, conditions have been put in place to prevent people from bringing tractors and other agricultural vehicles to the demonstration.

The force said the decision had been taken because of “serious disruption” the vehicles may cause to the local area, including businesses, emergency services and the public.

The protest is still going ahead and demonstrators are being told to remain in a specified area in Richmond Terrace.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride has claimed Rachel Reeves is “trying to pull the wool over your eyes” with the Budget.

He accused the Chancellor of breaking promises and that “hardworking families” will pick up the cost.

Sir Mel said: “Having already raised taxes by £40 billion, Reeves said she had wiped the slate clean, she wouldn’t be coming back for more and it was now on her.

“A year later and she is set to break that promise.

“Tax rises won’t be the product of tough choices, but the Chancellor’s refusal to face them.

“This Budget isn’t about economic necessity, it’s about political weakness, and hardworking families are being handed the bill.”

A potential cut in the Cash Isa limit in the Budget would not necessarily persuade people to move their money into investments, a finance expert has said.

The annual Cash Isa limit could be reduced to £12,000, reports suggest.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “We need an investment culture in the UK, and some of the money that has been saved in Cash Isas would work harder for people if it was invested instead, but there’s no evidence that cutting the cash Isa allowance would encourage them to make the change.

“There will be people for whom Cash Isas are the most sensible home for their money, especially if they’re saving for the short-term, have significant sums of cash and are a higher earner.

“When (Hargreaves Lansdown) surveyed clients as to what they would do in the event of a cut, they were equally likely to say a cut in the allowance would mean saving elsewhere as they were to say they would invest instead.

“There will be those who should be investing instead, but the game changer here will be changes in the pipeline to allow businesses to provide more targeted support and give people the help they need to take advantage of the enormous growth potential of investment. It’s the carrot that’s going to be effective here: not the stick.”

Rachel Reeves will unveil her highly anticipated Budget this afternoon.

As is tradition, the Chancellor will walk out of the door at Number 11 Downing Street and pose for photographs while holding up the red Budget Box, before then heading to Parliament.

At 12pm, Sir Keir Starmer will face PMQs and half an hour later, at 12.30pm, Ms Reeves will deliver the Budget.

Leader of the opposition, Conservative Kemi Badenoch, will provide the Budget response about an hour later.

All of these updates will be covered here in our live blog. Stay tuned.

The Government has announced minimum wage rates are to increase next year, giving a pay rise for millions of workers.

From next April the National Living Wage will rise by 4.1% to £12.71 an hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over, which the Government said will increase gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the rate by £900, benefiting around 2.4 million low-paid workers.

The National Minimum Wage rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase by 8.5% to £10.85 an hour, narrowing the gap with the National Living Wage.

This will mean an annual earnings increase of £1,500 for a full-time worker, which the Government said marks further progress towards its goal of phasing out 18 to 20 wage bands and establishing a single adult rate.

The National Minimum Wage for 16 to 17-year-olds and those on apprenticeships will increase by 6% to £8 an hour.

The Chancellor has vowed to make “fair and necessary choices” in the Budget.

The country is bracing for a series of tax rises as Rachel Reeves looks to fill a black hole in the public finances.

Ahead of the Budget, Ms Reeves said: “Today I will take the fair and necessary choices to deliver on our promise of change.”

She added: “I will not return Britain back to austerity, nor will I lose control of public spending with reckless borrowing.

“And I will push ahead with the biggest drive for growth in a generation.”

A freeze on income tax thresholds is widely expected to be extended amid warnings this will see pensioners £800 a year worse off.

Around a dozen tax rises are believed to be possible.

Here’s a look at six key taxes Ms Reeves could unveil.

There has been much speculation about what measures Rachel Reeves might announce at this highly-anticipated Budget.

While the idea of raising income tax has been abandonded, a series of other hikes are expected to introduced by the Chancellor.

There are also warnings that if Ms Reeves introduces, as predicted, a freeze on income tax thresholds then this this could result in more pensioners paying more tax and see them worse off by hundreds of pounds a year.

Here’s what to look out for at Budget:

– Minimum wage increase: Labour has already announced this will increase by 4.1% next year.

– Two-child benefit: The Chancellor is expected to scrap the limit that restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

– Tax hike on high-value homes: Its thought a new levy, dubbed ‘mansion tax’, could be applied to some of the most valuable homes.

– Tourism tax: Visitors to English cities and regions could face paying a new tourist tax to fund local projects. The Government last night said mayors will be given the power to impose a “modest” charge on visitors staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and holiday lets.

– Prescriptions: The cost of an NHS prescription in England will be frozen at £9.90.

– Tax for electric vehicles: The Chancellor is thought to be considering a 3p per mile tax for EVs.

– Sugar tax on pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes: The Health Secretary announced this week that these products will be subject to the sugar tax, ending the exemption for milk-based beverages from the existing tax on sugary drinks.

– Cash Isa limit cut: The Chancellor reportedly could reduce the annual cash ISA limit from £20,000 to £12,000.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of today’s huge Budget announcement.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to unveil a number of tax rises to fill a gaping hole in public finances.

Stay with us throughout the day for the latest updates, reaction and analysis.