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Martin Lewis has delivered his analysis and reaction to the key policy changes outlined in Rachel Reeves Autumn budget, saying that a rise in income tax thresholds is a “stealth tax” that would leave earners worse off. On Wednesday, the Chancellor unveiled £26 billion worth of tax hikes as she tried to close a multi-billion pound hole in the country’s public finances.  The decision to freeze tax thresholds in this Budget from 2028/29 onwards, to help fill a £20bn black hole, will raise £8bn in 2029-30 and drag one in four workers into the highest tax band. A further 780,000 people will pay tax for the first time.The Money Saving Expert founder, whose site provides free and independent advice on saving money, told the BBC’s Martin Lewis Podcast that this represented a “stealth tax” that would leave earners worse off. “You will be worse off. Freezing tax thresholds means that in real-terms, people are actually paying a higher proportion of their income as tax. You’re still taking home more money as you have an income rise. But the spending power of the money you’re taking home can be reduced because of stealth taxes.”Rachel Reeves increased taxes by £26 billion More

Millions more people will be dragged into paying higher income tax after Rachel Reeves bet her political future on a £26bn tax raid on the middle classes in her make-or-break second Budget.In what she branded a “Labour values” Budget, the chancellor moved to appease the left in her party with a package of measures that included 43 separate tax rises – according to shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride – taking the tax burden in the UK to its highest level in history. But she finally brought an end to the much-criticised two-child benefit cap, which campaigners say will help lift thousands of children out of poverty, and announced a £73bn splurge in welfare spending.The decision to freeze tax thresholds in this Budget from 2028/29 onwards, to help fill a £20bn black hole in public finances, will raise £8bn in 2029-30 and drag one in four workers into the highest tax band. A further 780,000 people will pay tax for the first time. Reeves branded the Budget one of ‘Labour values’ More

A letting agency director has accused Rachel Reeves of waging a war on landlords – and warned that tenants will face higher rent as a result of her attacks.During Wednesday’s Autumn Budget speech, the chancellor announced a two percentage point rise in tax rates on rental income for landlords as part of her overall package set to raise £26bn in tax hikes. The additional levy, Ms Reeves said, was only fair because no National Insurance was charged on property income.But the move has been criticised by landlords who say they are already in the firing line on a range of measures, including the Renters’ Rights Bill that will eliminate Section 21 “no fault” evictions from May next year.Deshal Raja, who owns 50 rental properties and is director of a letting agency, has criticised Rachel Reeves’ measure to tax landlords more on their income More

Kemi Badenoch has launched an extraordinary personal attack on Rachel Reeves just moments after the chancellor delivered her widely anticipated Budget, accusing her of “whining” over misogyny claims.The Conservative leader diverted from criticising Labour’s raft of tax hikes on Wednesday to tell MPs the chancellor was “wallowing in self-pity”. Responding to the chancellor’s wide-ranging economic announcement, Ms Badenoch told the Commons, “people are not complaining because she is female, they are complaining because she is utterly incompetent”.It comes after Ms Reeves, who is the UK’s first female chancellor, called out “misogynistic” criticism she faced in the build-up to the Budget, telling The Times she was “sick of people mansplaining how to be chancellor to me”.Kemi Badenoch accused Ms Reeves of ‘wallowing in self-pity’ More

“It’s not enough,” said pensioner Elaine Yates, when asked about Rachel Reeves’ pledge to raise the state pension in her second Budget.The 75-year-old will be one of 13 million pensioners to benefit from an above inflation rise next April, receiving an extra £575 a year, the equivalent of around £10 a week.But for the retried factory supervisor, who lives on her own and survives off the state pension, more help is needed, particularly for paying for rising energy bills.Despite being in line for the Winter Fuel Payment, Ms Yates told The Independent she can not afford to have the heating in her bungalow on overnight.“From 9.30pm to the morning I have the heating turned off,” she said. “I wake up cold, sometimes shivering, it’s a cut-back I have to make because I can’t afford to keep the house warm, what with prices going up so much.“The extra money each week in the pension is not enough to cover it.”Also as part of the Budget announced on Wednesday, Ms Reeves said there would be a change to energy levies that will save the average household £150 a year.Elaine Yates says she can’t afford to keep her heating on overnight More