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The Deputy Speaker has condemned the government for extensively speaking to the media in the weeks leading up to the Budget.Addressing MPs before Rachel Reeves began her speech on Wednesday (26 November), Nusrat Ghani criticised the “disappointing” extensive media briefings in the past few weeks, which she labelled as “unprecedented”.Going on to reference the OBR leaks which occurred an hour before the Chancellor gave her speech, she said: “This all falls short of the standards that the House expects.”Reminding the government that announcements should be made in the chamber before they are given to the media, she said: “Like many, I expected better.” 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

Independent readers were quick to voice their frustration – and, in many cases, outright anger – at a Budget they felt serves Labour’s political interests rather than the country’s needs. Many in our community felt Rachel Reeves’s £26bn package of tax rises lands hardest on those already feeling squeezed by a cost of living crisis, piling new burdens onto taxpayers who say they are running out of financial headway.With income tax thresholds frozen until 2030–31 and more than 1.7 million people set to be dragged into higher bands, several readers questioned how a government elected on a promise to protect “working people” could justify what amounts to a sweeping stealth tax. Others pointed to the pension contribution changes and cuts to ISA allowances as further evidence that those who save, plan and work hard are being treated as an easy target.The scrapping of the two-child benefit cap proved especially contentious, with many accusing the government of rewarding some households while demanding greater sacrifices from others. And yet, alongside these hikes, growth forecasts have weakened – leaving Across the board, readers were doubtful that the pain of this Budget will restore confidence in the economy.Here’s what you had to say:Kick in the teethAs a middle-class worker currently being taxed at around 62 per cent, I find it completely unacceptable that Labour is lifting the two-child cap. Having children is a personal choice, one that should be taken responsibly. Also, hitting pensions through salary sacrifice is another kick in the teeth. I’m all for fair taxation, but we’re so far from it now. Not shocked, but still deeply disappointed.AnunakiSqueezed middleThis Budget is an unmitigated disaster that punishes responsibility and rewards irresponsibility. Rachel Reeves’s decision to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds is a brutal stealth tax on working people, the very group Labour swore to protect. It’s a blatant betrayal that will slowly bleed households dry.Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTGet a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTMeanwhile, the move to tax pension contributions over £2,000 and cap the cash ISA allowance is a direct assault on aspiration and financial prudence. It tells anyone trying to save and provide for their future that they are the new piggy bank for a government with no pro-growth vision.But the most galling measure is the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. This is not compassion; it is economic illiteracy. It actively incentivises irresponsible behaviour by signalling that the state will foot the bill for having more children, regardless of one’s ability to provide for them. It is a policy that will encourage larger families at the direct expense of hard-working taxpayers, who are already being squeezed by the other tax hikes. The Tories are right on this one: this is a Budget for Benefits Street, and it’s being paid for by the squeezed middle who play by the rules. A truly disastrous set of priorities.ThomasDesperate to please party membersGiven the spectacular mismanagement of the lead-up to this Budget, it seemed rather fitting that the OBR joined in and accidentally released a link to their report two hours before the Chancellor even got to her feet. After weeks of expectation management of breaking their manifesto by increasing income tax, yet another eleventh-hour U-turn. As the saying goes, you may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb – and this Budget has all the hallmarks of a Chancellor who is more desperate to please her own party members and hang on to her own position than do the right thing for the economy and the country, which would have been to increase income tax transparently and not behind the smokescreen of yet more fiscal drag.We have a welfare bill that is accelerating out of control, yet she has lifted the cap on child benefit; a stagnant economy and a tax burden already at its highest since the 1940s; yet more disingenuous income tax rises through fiscal drag, which will not only hit the very poorest in society but once again target the same group of middle and higher earners whose spending is needed to generate economic growth.VickiGIncompetence or unwillingness?Reeves could have brought England into line with Scotland, and brought back the highest brackets of income tax that only apply to those with the highest incomes. But that would break a promise not to raise taxes on working people, so instead she breaks that same promise but in a way that increases the tax on the lowest paid. Is this incompetence, or unwillingness to bend to pressure from the Tufton Street oligarchs that appear to dictate the policies of this cabinet? Judging by the combination of intentional and unintentional leaks, it may well be both.JayA reckless policyScrapping the two-child cap is a reckless policy. Handing an average of £5,310 to 560,000 larger families rewards personal choices while ignoring other households under the same cost-of-living squeeze. It’s unfair and risks encouraging inflation, making life even harder for everyone, including the poor.MusilLooking after their ownMost of the people affected will be Labour voters, so they are looking after their own if they make this change. However, taxpayers will not be amused, so they will probably lose votes overall. The people they are rewarding would probably vote for them anyway; the people they are ripping off will swing to some degree.AnalyseThisSavers want stabilityDoes Reeves really think that by cutting the ISA allowance it will change people’s way of thinking? “Oh yes, we must immediately invest in stocks and shares.” Wrong. In these turbulent times, pensioners and savers want stability. This will have no effect other than to rub people up the wrong way. Sorry, but Labour haven’t a clue and you have lost my vote.CatsWhiskerChaos in messagingSo she’s charging electric car drivers (which they want more of) while freezing the cost for petrol drivers (which they say they want less of). The usual chaos in messaging from this Tory-light government.They should use a fix on the higher levels of tax (which would include me, for the record) to increase the lower level of tax, to bring more people out of poverty – not push even more there, as people with lower levels of income will now have to pay tax.At least they say they are putting more money into the NHS and are getting rid of Police and Crime Commissioners.BryanWe want more but won’t pay for itPeople in this country constantly want more and more and more, but aren’t prepared to pay for it. We have lower taxes (still) than most Scandinavian countries, but we’re constantly looking over at them and asking how they do it. You get what you’re willing to pay for.Icarus57Reducing demand will reduce taxesReducing household incomes by an average of £1,250 by 2025–26 by deploying fiscal drag will reduce demand, which in turn will reduce taxes. Was there ever a more clownish government than this, which clearly needs to go because it can’t work out the basic implications of its fiscal policy?forumPenalising those who got an educationAs predicted, Reeves is taxing workers and savers and handing over to those that don’t. Another Labour Budget penalising those that got themselves an education, qualifications or useful skills to hand their taxes over to those that didn’t bother.This will take the tax burden on workers over 38%, a new record. Same old, same old with Labour… until, of course, workers get fed up with handing over more and more of their hard-earned cash.ChrisMatthewsSome of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.Want to share your views? Simply register your details below. Once registered, you can comment on the day’s top stories for a chance to be featured. Alternatively, click ‘log in’ or ‘register’ in the top right corner to sign in or sign up.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment, click here. More

Nigel Farage has been accused of “persistent” racial abuse by a school contemporary who rejects the Reform UK leader’s claims it was “banter”.Peter Ettedgui, whose Jewish grandparents escaped Nazi Germany, has alleged Mr Farage growled “Hitler was right”, hissed “gas them” and told him “to the gas chambers” when the pair attended Dulwich College in the late 1970s.He is among more than a dozen former pupils of the south London school who have accused Mr Farage of making antisemitic and racist remarks in claims originally reported in The Guardian.The Reform UK leader appeared to leave open the possibility he may have made racist remarks without “intent” during his first interview since the claims were published, telling ITV on Monday: “I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way.” He also admitted to engaging in “banter in a playground”.But in a prepared statement given on Tuesday, Mr Farage “categorically” denied he had ever made such comments and suggested the claims were politically motivated.Mr Ettedgui, a Bafta-winning film director, has now told The Times it is “no surprise” that the Reform leader has denied the allegations.Farage ‘categorically’ denies he had ever made such racist comments More

An extraordinary Budget day saw the details of Rachel Reeves’ new policies published too early, before she unveiled a swathe of £26bn tax rises and a raft of changes. So, from ISA limits to freezing income tax thresholds, how do the main changes around personal finances affect you – and who were the winners and losers from the big decisions?The Independent takes a look:Pensioners We expected a cut to the cash ISA and it duly arrived. A maximum of £12,000 will be able to be put into the tax-free savings accounts, down from £20,000. The remaining £8,000, the chancellor said, is to be reserved for investing products like stocks and shares ISAs.However, there’s an exception within the change. Over 65s will be able to still save the full £20,000 in cash if they wish.This is an important win, as investing is generally more suited for those with longer timeframes, and older people are generally advised to consider de-risking their wealth, which cash savings allow them to do.Ms Reeves announced an extension to the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until September next year. A fuel duty freeze is a positive for everyone who drives petrol cars, naturally.However, as Creditspring finance expert Tamsin Powell points out, it’s not just drivers who benefit here – it’s all consumers, due to cost increases typically being passed on in things we buy.“Rising fuel costs don’t just affect drivers, they also push up the price of goods and services, from food deliveries to public transport,” she said. “A rise would have particularly hurt those in rural areas or people who rely on cars to commute.“At a time when many are still struggling with high energy bills and stagnant wages, keeping fuel duty low is one of the simplest ways to prevent additional financial strain.”Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTGet a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTImportantly, then, this fuel duty freeze should contribute to overall lower inflation across 2026 and beyond.Some families The abolition of the two-child benefit cap will help more than half a million families, according to the OBR, to the tune of an average £5,310.The measure, to ease child poverty, will be warmly welcomed by Labour MPs but will cost £3 billion a year by 2029/30. Basic-rate taxpayersThe National Living Wage has gone up to £12.71 for those aged 21 and over, meaning a full time worker would benefit in gross earnings by £900 annually.Similarly, the National Minimum Wage increase for 18-20 year olds to £10.85 means a full-time worker would earn £1,500 more across a year.Clutching at straws here perhaps, but there had been talk of changes to income tax rates – instead they stay the same.That’s a boost to those who might have feared a lower take-home pay. But it will hit some people harder (more on that later).Another potential additional win for basic-rate taxpayers comes in the form of changes to salary sacrifice rules. Contributions above an annual £2,000 threshold will no longer be exempt from national insurance from April 2029.But those paying 5 per cent of a £40,000 salary into a pension on salary sacrifice will not cross the forthcoming £2,000 threshold at which point National Insurance payments would come into play, so there would be no immediate loss there.Middle earnersIncome tax bands are to be frozen through to 2030-31, meaning anyone on a salary of £45,000 now and getting a 4 per cent raise – that’s lower than this year’s salary growth rate, remember – across the next three years would be dragged into the threshold and become a higher-rate taxpayer, while doing the same job.The move, one of Ms Reeves’ most controversial, is expected to drag close to one million people into the higher rate band by the end of that period.Ms Reeves acknowledged the freeze in tax thresholds would hit “working people” – the group Labour had promised to protect – but she was “asking everyone to make a contribution”.Cash saversThere’s a possible hit at both ends of the scales here: old and young, small amounts and large.( More

Kemi Badenoch has warned Rachel Reeves her move to hike tax on landlords will drive rental increases, with tenants already facing record highs across Britain.Ms Reeves delivered her Budget in the Commons on Wednesday, with the chancellor unveiling £26bn in tax rises and leaving £22bn in fiscal headroom as she set out plans to plug the gap in the public finances.The tax increases, which come on top of the £40bn of rises announced last year, will be delivered through a freeze on personal tax thresholds and a series of smaller measures. It brings the tax take to an all-time high of 38 per cent of GDP in 2030–31.Among the announcements was a two percentage point rise in tax rates on property, savings and dividend income from April 2027, meaning landlords will face higher tax on their rental income.Kemi Badenoch warns Rachel Reeves her move to hike tax on landlord will only result in rents increasing More

Rachel Reeves hit out at the “grotesque” rape clause tied to the two-child cap policy during her Budget speech.Speaking to the Commons on Wednesday (26 November), the Chancellor slammed the policy, which means a parent or carer has to prove a child was conceived non-consensually to receive a benefit.“I will not tolerate the grotesque indignity to women of the rape clause any longer. It is dehumanising. It is cruel,” she said.She said she would remove the two-child benefit cap from April, a move that will increase the benefits for 560,000 families by an average of £5,310, the OBR has calculated. More