"If there was any doubt about tax rises before this speech, there isn't now. Yet when pressed on which taxes might go up, Reeves refused to go into specifics. Instead she began the work of explaining why a year after delivering a tax-raising Budget and vowing not to come back for more, she is in fact coming back for more. The chancellor said she would do what is necessary, not what is popular."
"The reasons she gave were poor productivity, for which she blamed Conservative government policy including Brexit, austerity and short-sighted decisions to cut infrastructure spending, persistently high global inflation and the uncertainty unleashed by Donald Trump's tariffs. In short, Reeves' argument is that the failings of others are being visited upon this government, and that it falls to her to confront decisions her predecessors ducked."
Rachel Reeves declined to rule out reversing the manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance and warned she will make necessary choices in the Budget. She refused to name specific tax increases while setting the context for tougher measures. Reeves attributed the need for action to poor productivity blamed on past Conservative policies including Brexit, austerity and infrastructure cuts, alongside persistent global inflation and uncertainty from Donald Trump's tariffs. She pledged a Budget focused on growth and fairness to cut NHS waiting lists, lower national debt and alleviate cost of living pressures. The opposition warned tax rises are coming.
Read at www.bbc.com
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