LONDON – Rachel Reeves admitted Britain is ‘angry’ today as ordinary workers brace for budget pain after weeks of chaos.
The chancellor is gearing up to impose another scorching round of tax hikes in her big set-piece at 12:30pm as she desperately tries to fill a black hole in the finances.
Potentially the biggest revenue-raiser will be extending the long-running freeze on tax thresholds for another two years.
That stealth raid will milk thousands of pounds more from struggling households – with ministers conceding it will demolish Labour’s promises to protect ‘working people’.
A brutal assault on pension tax reliefs and a ‘mansion tax’ are among the other moves expected in the critical package. They could take the overall burden to the highest it has been in more than 300 years of official records.
However, Reeves will splash the cash on handouts to placate increasingly mutinous Labour MPs. The two-child benefit cap is set to be axed, leaving around 18 000 large families in line to pocket an extra £14 000.
In a sop to hard-pressed households, fuel duty is likely to be frozen for a year and green levies on energy bills could be paid for from government funds.
The dramatic session in the Commons this lunchtime will be a make-or-break moment for both Reeves and Keir Starmer. Just a year ago, Reeves vowed she would not be coming back for more taxes.
Cabinet is meeting to formally sign off the plans.
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