Slashed OBR growth forecasts could force Rachel Reeves into £20-30billion of tax hikes in Wednesday’s Autumn Budget, economists fear – so today Express readers are being asked: should she resign if they do? The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to downgrade its economic growth predictions for 2026 and the rest of the parliament when the Chancellor delivers her statement on Wednesday, according to Sky News.

The weaker outlook, driven by softer growth, rising debt costs and a productivity downgrade of nearly 0.3 percentage points, is expected to leave a £20-30billion hole in public finances that Ms Reeves will likely plug with tax rises, including potential increases to income tax. The UK economy has been expanding at an annual rate of around 1.5% on average since mid-2024, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowing throughout 2025.

While GDP is 5.3% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, GDP per head is only 0.8% higher over the same period, according to the Commons Library, partly due to weakness in consumer spending.

Inflation has increased from a low of 1.7% in September 2024 to 3.6% in October 2025, much higher than the Bank of England’s 2% target.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Monday, Business Secretary Peter Kyle insisted “things are getting better in our country” and that the Government is “investing in public services” while “laying the foundations for economic growth” to break the “cycle of high tax and low growth”.