Rachel Reeves breaks silence with 7-word message to voters hours before tax rising Budget
Rachel Reeves is expected to introduce several tax hikes in her Budget as a senior Tory claims the Chancellor is “trying to pull the wool over your eyes”.
Rachel Reeves will unveil her second Budget on Wednesday afternoon (Image: Getty)
Rachel Reeves has sent a message to the public just hours before her Budget announcement as the country braces for a series of tax rises. In a seven-word comment, the Chancellor acknowledged voters are “angry at the unfairness in our economy”.
In a filmed address, Ms Reeves went on to blame the Tories and COVID for damaging the health of Britain’s finances. She said: “I know that the cost of living is still bearing down on family finances, I know that people feel frustrated at the pace of change, or angry at the unfairness in our economy.
Rachel Reeves has insisted measures will be introduced to tackle the cost-of-living crisis (Image: Getty)
“I have to be honest that the damage done from austerity, a chaotic Brexit and the pandemic were worse than we thought.
“But I’m not going to duck those challenges, and nor will I accept that our past must define our future. It doesn’t have to.”
Ms Reeves said she knows there is “more to do” to help the UK’s economic outlook.
She said Labour had started to see results in the past year with “wages rising faster than inflation, hospital waiting lists coming down, and our economy growing faster and stronger than people expected”.
The Chancellor also said the Budget will be for “the British people” and Labour will work towards a “fairer, stronger and more secure Britain”.
She has insisted measures will be introduced to tackle the cost-of-living crisis amid tensions on the Labour backbenches.
Ms Reeves is widely expected to introduce several tax hikes in her Budget announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
A dozen tax rises are reportedly being considered, including a ‘mansion tax’ on properties worth more than £2 million, a gambling levy and pay-per-mile charging for electric vehicles.
The Chancellor has abandoned plans to raise income tax, although an extension of the income tax threshold freeze until 2030 is widely expected.
This would see more people dragged into paying tax for the first time or shifted into a higher rate as wages increase.
Analysis shows pensioners will be £800 a year worse off if the move goes ahead.
Ms Reeves has also promised to push ahead with the biggest drive for growth in a generation” and vowed she would not “lose control of public spending”.
However, Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride has claimed Ms Reeves is “trying to pull the wool over your eyes”.
He added: “Having already raised taxes by £40 billion, Reeves said she had wiped the slate clean, she wouldn’t be coming back for more and it was now on her.
“A year later and she is set to break that promise.
“Tax rises won’t be the product of tough choices, but the Chancellor’s refusal to face them.
“This Budget isn’t about economic necessity, it’s about political weakness, and hardworking families are being handed the bill.”
