WATCH Rachel Reeves repeatedly “lie” to Brits to justify her tax raid.
The Chancellor spent weeks warning Britain she had “tough decisions” to make – with a shock productivity downgrade .
Hosting a press conference at Downing Street on November 4, Reeves hinted she would be forced to hike income taxCredit: Getty
Reeves used her Budget this week to increase taxesCredit: Getty
Hosting a press conference at on November 4, Ms Reeves hinted she would be forced to hike income tax.
She insisted working people would “all have to do our bit” after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded productivity forecasts.
She said: “That [the productivity downgrade] has consequences for working people — for their jobs and for their wages and it has consequences for the public finances too, in lower tax receipts.”
But the OBR has blown the story apart, revealing it told Ms Reeves back on September 17 that the downgrade had been fully offset by soaring tax revenues from higher wages and .
By October 31, the watchdog told her she actually had a £4.2billion surplus, meaning her own fiscal rules were already met without raising a single tax.
Speaking in a BBC interview on November 10, Ms Reeves doubled down on her claims and warned Brits of a “difficult” Budget.
She said: “The economic circumstances have declined, deteriorated since a year ago…
“As a result, we are having to look at taxes and spending. It’s got to be both of those things.
“The speech I made last week was about setting the context for the Budget, which is a difficult one.
“I think people can see that and they understand why this is a difficult Budget.”
Even so, Reeves unleashed a litany of tax hikes in the budget, vowing to reduce inflation and “provide relief” for families.
Speaking in the Commons, she said: “This Budget will bring down inflation and provide immediate relief for families.
“I said I would cut debt and borrowing, and I meant it. These are my choices. Not austerity. Not borrowing.
“Not turning a blind eye to unfairness. My choice is a Budget for fair taxes, strong public services, and a stable economy.”
Paul Johnson, an ex-chief at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said “it probably was misleading”.
He told The Times : “It was designed to confirm a narrative that there was a fiscal black hole that needed to be filled with significant tax rises.
“In fact, as she knew at the time, no such hole existed.”
Tory leader slammed the latest revelations as “shameful” and called for Chancellor to be sacked.
The Leader of the Opposition said: “For months Reeves has lied to the public to justify record tax hikes to pay for more welfare.
“Her Budget wasn’t about stability. It was about politics: bribing Labour MPs to save her own skin. Shameful.”
Reeves accused of 'misleading' public - the timeline
September 17
In its first forecast, the OBR tells Ms Reeves the productivity downgrade has been fully offset by soaring tax revenues from higher wages and inflation.
October 31
The watchdog then informs the Chancellor she actually has a £4.2billion surplus.
This means her own fiscal rules were already met without the need to raise a single tax.
November 4
In an emergency press conference, Ms Reeves hints she will be forced to hike income tax.
She insists working people would “all have to do our bit” and claims a shock productivity downgrade has blown a huge gap in the economy.
November 10
In an interview with the BBC, Ms Reeves doubles down on her claims and warns of a “difficult” Budget to come.
November 13
Reeves abandons plans to raise income tax at the Budget fearing a major backlash
November 26
The Chancellor delivers the Budget, raising taxes by £26 billion.
On November 13, Reeves abandoned her plans to raise income tax at the Budget, fearing it would spark major backlash.
Former minister and Tory member of the Treasury Select Committee John Glen also accused Mr Reeves of misleading the public.
He added: “The whole country will think: ‘what the hell is she doing’.
“She told the public she needed to make tough decisions to fill a gap in funding identified by the OBR. That was not true.
“She knew it was not true when she said it. It was all an elaborate ploy to try and excuse her decision to break her manifesto pledge on taxes.”
Ms Reeves insisted an eye-watering splurge on benefits funded by tax rises would not be her political “obituary”.
Her , which saw a freeze on income tax thresholds extended, was met with harsh criticism.
Her tax raid is set to fund scrapping the two-child benefit policy and cutting .
Almost one million more Brits will be hauled into the higher band of income tax after she broke her promise to end threshold freezes.
The U-turn will see a quarter of all workers paying the 40 per cent rate by 2030-31 in a £12.7billion stealth raid.
The long-promised action to tackle our eye-watering benefits bill was ducked once more by Labour.
Welfare spending is expected to rise by £9billion, with critics slamming the fiscal decisions and warning they could spell doom for the UK’s economy.
Downing Street denied that Ms Reeves had “misled” the and the public.
When quizzed over the OBR’s revelations, a spokesman said: “At the Budget she set out the decisions very, very clearly.”
Budget shambles
By Political Editor
What we are currently witnessing is without precedent – and the biggest Budget shambles in history.
In an extraordinary clanger, the OBR accidentally published the entirety of Rachel Reeves’ measures half an hour before she was due to deliver them.
The Budget is meant to be top secret until the Chancellor delivers her speech because so much of it is market sensitive.
Not only that, but the leak has stolen Ms Reeves’ thunder given we now all know what she is about to announce.
It is a bungle for the ages and one that will forever haunt the Treasury memory. Thoughts with the person responsible…
Told Ms Reeves may have “significantly misled” the markets and the public, the spokesman replied: “I don’t accept that.
“As she set out in the speech she gave here, she talked about the challenges the country is facing.
“She set out the decisions very clearly at the Budget.”
In an exclusive interview with The Sun yesterday, Rachel Reeves’ uncle blasted the Budget as the “worse I’ve ever heard”.
Terry Smith, 73, joined a long line of detractors after the Chancellor putting skivers ahead of strivers.
Mr Smith, whose primary school teacher sister Sally is Ms Reeves’ mum, broke family ranks to brand the “a disgrace”.
Retired construction boss Mr Smith told The Sun: “It is going to cost the working class billions of pounds and leave the country worse off.
“It’s the worst Budget I’ve ever heard — and I’m 73, so I have been around for quite a few.
“Rachel is my niece and is a lovely person, but government is totally out of their depth.”
It marks another twist in the chaotic Budget, after it was accidentally published thirty minutes early.
The report was mistakenly released by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in a massive blunder.
The document, which analyses a raft of policies taken by , ahead of time.
Footage showed an embarrassed Ms Reeves realising the document had been wrongly released during Prime Minister’s Questions.
She was seen shaking her head as she learnt about the shambles that broke thirty minutes before the official release.
The report would normally only be released after the Chancellor has finished speaking, and already .
Paul Johnson, an ex-chief at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said ‘it probably was misleading’Credit: PA
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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