The OBR has accidentally published the details of the Budget more than 30 minutes early.
An ‘unprecedented’ leak has seen key measures from the Budget accidentally published way ahead of the Budget, sparking market pandemonium. The Office for Budget Responsibility has leaked prematurely, with outlets already highlighting major measures from Ms Reeves’ Budget being confirmed before she’s stood up to announce them.
Among the details being revealed are that the Chancellor will be freezing tax thresholds to 2030 – raising £8 billion – and that debt as a share of GDP is set to rise to 69% by the end of the decade. In response, gilt yields have fallen sharply, reflecting market chaos sparked by the shocking leak. The document also confirms that growth – a key pledge by Rachel Reeves – has been downgraded every year from 2026. This includes GDP growth of 1.5% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026.
The Budget has been thrown into yet more chaos (Image: Getty)
Kemi Badenoch slammed the unprecedented leaks (Image: Parliament Live)
Fuel duty is being frozen until September 2026, and the two-child limit for Universal Credit will be abolished from next April costing £5.3 billion by the end of the parliament.
In total, according this this leaked OBR document, Rachel Reeves is about to unveil £26 billion in tax rises. This will lead to the tax burden hitting a record-breaking 28% as a proportion of GDP in 2031.
This will leave her with £22 billion of fiscal headroom, also raised from a tax raid on pension contributions worth £4.7 billion, a pay-per-mile levy on electric cars raising £1.4 billion, and gambling taxes raising £1.1 billion.
The document was published by the OBR at around 11.45am, and taken offline 30 minutes later.
The OBR has apologised for publishing their analysis of the Budget “too early”, blaming it on a “technical error” and said they have initiated an investigation into how this happened.
They added: “We will be reporting to our Oversight Board, the Treasury, and the Commons Treasury Committee on how this happened, and we will make sure this does not happen again.”
At PMQs this lunchtime, Kemi Badenoch condemned the astonishing amount of pre-Budget leaks.
Rachel Reeves’ tax rises in full
Here is the full list of tax rises in this Budget, as leaked by the OBR document:
- Freezing income and NI thresholds until 2030: £8 billion
- Pension salary sacrifice raid: £4.7 billion
- Dividend, property, savings tax rise: £2.2 billion
- Changes to corporation tax: £1.5 billion
- Pay-per-mile scheme: £1.4 billion
- Gambling tax: £1.1 billion
- Capital gains on trusts: £900 million
- Council tax rise on homes worth more than £2 million: £400 million
- Tackling tax avoidance: £2.3 billon
- Other measures: £4.4 billion
The leak sparked market chaos as gilt yields plunged (Image: FT)
She blasted: “This has been the most chaotic lead-up to a Budget in living memory, with resignations, hostile briefings, and leaks galore.
“Even just in the last 10 minutes, an unprecedented leak of the OBR analysis. Mr Speaker these leaks have been so serious that even the former chief economist of the Bank of England has said that Labour fiscal fandango ‘is the single biggest reason why growth has flatlined’.”
Demanding an explanation for the “complete shambles”, Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted the biggest shambles was Liz Truss’s budget.
Addressing the major leak, the Prime Minister merely said: “Matters for the OBR are for the OBR. The Chancellor will set out the Budget in just a few minutes’ time.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey fumed: “We’ve just seen in the leaked OBR documents that taxes are going up to an historic record high.”
