British Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the latest budget on Wednesday, setting out sweeping tax hikes which are projected to raise 26.1 billion pounds ($34.4bn) for the public purse by 2030.The budget had been highly anticipated as a “make or break” moment for the UK’s governing Labour party, which has grappled with poor polling over the past year. Earlier this year, an opinion poll by YouGov found that if an election were to be held now, the far-right Reform UK Party, which takes a hard line on immigration, would come to power.In an embarrassing turn, the country’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its economic outlook as a result of the budget on its website two hours before the announcement – something it never normally does until afterwards. Reeves called the blunder “deeply disappointing” and a “serious error”.Reeves acknowledged that the tax rises – to be paid in large part by freezing existing income tax thresholds, meaning more people will pay higher tax as their incomes rise with inflation – would adversely affect working people. This breaks a key pledge Labour made in its manifesto before last year’s general election.“We are asking everyone to make a contribution,” Reeves told parliament.However, she said the tax rises would help pay for nearly 22 billion pounds ($28.9bn) in fiscal headroom within five years. Reeves also said government borrowing would fall each year. Borrowing in 2025-26 i …
