9 h. ago Rachel Reeves ‘uncomfortable’ listening to Kemi Badenoch’s Budget response

The Tory leader said her ‘job is to hold the Government to account, not to provide emotional support for the Chancellor’.

Politics

41 h. ago Reeves defends Budget tax and spending choices as ‘fair and necessary’

The Chancellor she had made choices to increase taxes and improve public infrastructure, and had ‘chosen to protect public spending’.

Economics

47 h. ago Rachel Reeves accused of misleading the UK over 'hard choices' and £30bn black hole

A letter from the Office for Budget Responsibility revealed it told the Chancellor that the spending gap would be much smaller, leading to claims she had 'lied to the public'

Economics

67 h. ago ANDREW NEIL: It accidentally leaked the Budget and gets its forecasts wildly wrong. Yet George Osborne's unelected quango has more power over Chancellors than ever

The premature publication of the Budget by the Office for Budget Responsibility was just about the only reason for a chuckle in what was a pretty grim day for the country and the economy.

Politics

3 d. ago Budget leak mystery deepens as 'external person' now blamed for OBR release

The head of the Office for Budget Responsibility has given more clues about how an extraordinary release of the Budget contents in advance may have happened

Economics

3 d. ago Bereaved families face higher inheritance tax bills as thresholds are now frozen until 2031

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that the proportion of estates paying IHT will double to 10% by 2030.

Economics

3 d. ago 'External person' may have had access to leaked Budget document link, OBR head says

The OBR has said an external person must have been responsible for leaking the Budget documents yesterday

Politics

3 d. ago Reeves should be more ambitious on tax reform to boost economic growth – IFS

The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ director Helen Miller called on the Chancellor to be more ambitious about measures to boost growth.

Economics

3 d. ago Rachel Reeves’s budget has inflamed, not calmed, Britain’s febrile mood | Martin Kettle

The chancellor’s statement will be remembered for the many taxes it raised, rather than the big one – income tax – it did notRachel Reeves’s chancellorship was already balanced on a knife-edge, even before the 2025 budget. After she delivered her second budget statement, it still is. Even more than usual, Wednesday’s speech was full of significant fiscal changes, altered spending commitments and adjusted economic forecasts, most of them accidentally (and, for journalists, conveniently) released a short while in advance by the obviously misnamed Office for Budget Responsibility. Politically, however, almost nothing has changed at all.Reeves arrived in the Treasury last year offering what she, like Keir Starmer, had promised as the Conservative years ebbed: competence, stability and, above all, a focus on economic growth. Her problem, despite her upbeat assessments, is that she has delivered none of them. Nothing about the 2025 budget guarantees any early change in that, however defia...

Politics

3 d. ago Burst in AI bubble could blow £26bn hole in Rachel Reeve's hopes of balancing the books

It was the first time the Office for Budget Responsibility has outlined how public finances could be affected if the rally in tech stocks sparked by the boom in artificial intelligence crashes.

Economics

3 d. ago Chancellor to face more questions after Budget overshadowed by major leak

The Chancellor’s decisions put Britain on course for a record tax burden as she hiked levies.

Politics

4 d. ago Schools could face 'catastrophic' squeeze from special needs costs in Budget shakeup

Schools could face a 4.9 per cent drop in funding following a Government pledge to absorb special needs overspend, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned.

Economics

4 d. ago Budget ‘papers over cracks’, say economists as UK growth forecasts downgraded

The Office for Budget Responsibility also pointed to a worsening short-term picture for inflation and unemployment.

Economics

4 d. ago Tax, spending and investment: Where the Budget ranks in history

The Government has committed to the longest sustained period of high spending since the Second World War.

Economics

4 d. ago Budget 2025 winners and losers revealed from taxpayers to pensioners and savers

Details of the Budget were accidentally leaked early by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) with families up and down the country now digesting what it means for them

Economics

4 d. ago Rachel Reeves says budget will cut living costs after shock OBR leak

Chancellor unveils action on energy bills, rail fares and two-child benefit cap as she reveals £26bn tax risesHow does freezing tax thresholds affect your tax bill?Budget 2025: key points at a glanceRachel Reeves has declared her budget will slash living costs for millions including ending the two-child benefit limit and cutting energy bills, but taxes are set to soar by £26bn to plug a gaping shortfall in the public finances.Major measures in the budget leaked early in a shock accidental release by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), triggering an instant bond market reaction an hour before the chancellor was on her feet in the House of Commons. After months of speculation, Reeves said her measures would put the public finances on a sustainable path while building “a fairer, a stronger, a more secure Britain” by tackling inflation and investing in large infrastructure projects. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Campaigners and Labour MPs hail Rachel Reeves’ decision to scrap two

Ditching the policy will result in an estimated reduction of child poverty by 450,000.

Politics

4 d. ago Voices: ‘A kick in the teeth’: Readers say Rachel Reeves’ Budget ‘punishes responsibility’

Our community overwhelmingly feel the Budget prioritises Labour’s political goals over public needs, hitting already-squeezed taxpayers with steep rises while offering little confidence in meaningful economic improvement

Politics

4 d. ago Reeves launches £26 billion tax raid as welfare spending rises

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s announcements will leave 1.7 million people paying more income tax.

Economics

4 d. ago So much for cutting the benefits bill: Cost of welfare to soar by an extra £16 billion, Budget reveals after Reeves surrendered over two

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that Ms Reeves' decision to ease the limit on how many children parents are given money for would add £3.1billion to the bill on its own.

Economics