Budget 2024 latest: Reeves admits ‘taxes will need to rise’ in stark warning to public

Chancellor has reiterated that “tough decisions” have been made ahead of next week

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out raising national insurance contributions

Rachel Reeves will announce Labour’s first Budget since coming into power on 30 October, leading one of the most anticipated fiscal events in over two decades.

Ahead of her announcement, the chancellor has said “taxes will need to rise” in her starkest warning to the public yet. Writing in the Financial Times, the chancellor added that this will come alongside “tough decisions on spending and welfare.”

Ms Reeves also strongly hints that she will be revising Labour’s fiscal rule around debt, unlocking a potential £57bn for investment, writing that the rule “will make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy”.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa, where he has issued a strong rallying call regarding the upcoming fiscal event.

“We are going to tackle the inheritance in this Budget,” he said, adding: “I’m not prepared to walk past it.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event on 30 October here, on The Independent’s liveblog.

Key Points

• Streeting refuses to rule out income tax threshold freeze
• When is the 2024 Budget and what might be in it?
• Government will keep manifesto pledges, says Starmer

[25 October 2024 06:00 · Simon Calder]

Air Passenger Duty may go up in Reeves’s Budget – could the ‘Inverness Immunity’ come to an end?

A week from now, the chancellor will be rehearsing for her first Budget. With rises in the most significant taxes – such as income tax and VAT – ruled out, Air Passenger Duty (APD) looks ripe for an increase, writes Simon Calder.

Read his expert advice:

[25 October 2024 05:00 · Alexander Butler]

Staggering cost of Britain’s Brexit divorce revealed – and there’s billions more to pay EU

[25 October 2024 03:00 · Albert Toth]

How make-or-break Budget has fractured Keir Starmer’s cabinet

Rachel Reeves’ Budget is a make-or-break moment for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, potentially sparking a decade of national renewal – or sowing the seeds of Labour’s downfall.

The prime minister’s poll ratings are at rock bottom after just over 100 days in charge, and the much-hyped “tough choices” to be unveiled on October 30 will likely do little to help boost his appeal.

[25 October 2024 02:00 · Alexander Butler]

Rachel Reeves to turn on spending taps with Budget boost for infrastructure and clean energy

[25 October 2024 00:01 · Albert Toth]

How Labour could push through ‘stealth’ income tax rise at the Budget

Labour is expected to extend an income tax measure that has been described as a “stealth tax” at the upcoming Budget as more people are set to pay higher rates.

Officials have said Rachel Reeves is looking to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds, which has dragged millions of earners into paying higher rates of income tax since 2021.

[24 October 2024 21:00 · Albert Toth]

Rachel Reeves set to borrow billions for investment after announcing major change to fiscal rules

Rachel Reeves has announced a change to the fiscal rules ahead of next week’s budget, allowing her to borrow billions more each year.

The chancellor today confirmed her rules will “make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy”, amid widespread expectation she will change the way debt is measured.

[24 October 2024 18:00 · Archie Mitchell]

Rachel Reeves to turn on spending taps with Budget boost for infrastructure and clean energy

Rachel Reeves will turn on the spending taps to upgrade Britain’s creaking infrastructure and invest in the clean energy transition, she will tell world leaders today.

The chancellor is planning to change the government’s fiscal rules to free up billions of pounds of borrowing, which she will promise to spend laying “the foundations of future growth”.

[24 October 2024 15:55 · Albert Toth]

“Taxes will need to rise”: Reeves pens letter ahead of Budget

The chancellor has published an article for the Financial Times where she discusses her fiscal rules. It’s the strongest hint yet that she will be revising Labour’s rule around debt on 30 October:

“My fiscal rules will do two things. The first and most important: my stability rule will mean that day-to-day spending will be matched by revenues.

“Given the state of the public finances and the need to invest in our public services, this rule will bite hardest. Alongside tough decisions on spending and welfare, that means taxes will need to rise to ensure this rule is met. I will always protect working people when I make these choices, while taking a balanced approach.

“Crucially, my stability rule will also cover the interest on our national debt and unlike the previous government I won’t cut capital budgets to make up for shortfalls in the day-to-day running costs of departments.

“My second fiscal rule, the investment rule, will get debt falling as a proportion of our economy. That will make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy, and ensure we don’t see the falls in public sector investment that were planned under the last government.

“We will invest alongside business, through expert bodies like the National Wealth Fund, multiplying the impact of public money. And I will invest wisely — we won’t just increase investment, we will also invest differently. We won’t repeat the costly mistakes of the past.”

[24 October 2024 14:19 · Albert Toth]

Starmer discusses Budget in Samoa

Speaking while travelling to Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders, Sir Keir addressed Labour’s inheritance from the Conservatives head on, saying: “I am not prepared to walk past it.”

“Obviously there are other Budgets to come but this is a significant one which will set the approach, the framework if you like, and it will give a sense of how we intend to do business.

“We are going to tackle the inheritance in this Budget.

“I’m not prepared to walk past it. I’m not prepared to put it off and that is a signal of the way I want to do business which is not to pretend our problems aren’t there, it’s to actually roll up our sleeves and deal with it.”

[24 October 2024 11:30 · Archie Mitchell]

Budget will ‘face up’ to black hole in public finances, Keir Starmer vows

Sir Keir Starmer has said the Budget will “face up” to the reality of Labour’s inheritance from the Conservatives as Rachel Reeves prepares to borrow tens of billions of pounds to invest in Britain’s crumbling infrastructure.

Ahead of the party’s first Budget in 15 years, the prime minister promised to tackle the hole left in Britain’s public finances and give the public “a sense of how we intend to do business” going forward.