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    Watch live: Office for Budget Responsibility responds to Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax hikes

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseWatch live as chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) Richard Hughes holds a press conference after Labour’s Budget was announced on Wednesday, 30 October.Rachel Reeves, the UK’s first female chancellor, announced tax hikes that will raise an eye-watering £40bn.The chancellor said Labour had inherited a £22bn funding “black hole” from the Tories and would never again “allow a government to play fast and loose with public finances.”Ms Reeves promised to “invest, invest, invest” in order to “fix public services” after months of warning the public of the “tough choices” ahead.She confirmed increases to employers’ national insurance contributions, stamp duty on second homes and a scrapping of VAT exemption on private schools fees, and a new duty on vaping liquids.Ahead of the press conference, the OBR said Ms Reeves’ plan “delivers a large, sustained increase in spending, taxation, and borrowing.” More

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    Budget 2024 live: Rachel Reeves reveals capital gains and stamp duty rise as part of £40bn in tax hikes

    Chancellor Reeves confirms fuel duty freeze will continue into 2025Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves has announced increases in stamp duty rise and capital gains tax as part of tax hikes that will raise an eye-watering £40bn in her historic first Budget.Launching an attack on previous Tory governments, the chancellor said Labour had inherited a £22bn “black hole”, and would never again “allow a government to play fast and loose with public finances.After months spent warning the public of “tough choices” ahead, Ms Reeves promised to “invest, invest, invest” in order to “fix public services”.Increases to employers’ national insurance contributions, stamp duty on second homes and a scrapping of VAT exemption on private schools fees were all confirmed by the chancellor, as well as a new duty on vaping liquids.However, there were surprise announcements that the freeze on income tax thresholds, often described as a “stealth tax”, would not be extended past 2028, while Ms Reeves has also decided against a hike in fuel duty.Responding to the Budget, Rishi Sunak accused Ms Reeves of “fiddling the figures” and criticised the government for embarking on an “enormous borrowing spree”.Show latest update 1730300035Watch live: Office for Budget Responsibility responds to Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax hikesAndy Gregory30 October 2024 14:531730299894Budget averts 36% fall in net public investment, IPPR analyst saysRachel Reeves’ Budget will keep investment in the public sector roughly stable over the course of this parliament, according to Carsten Jung, head of macroeconomics at the IPPR think-tank.The new plans contrast with a 36 per cent fall under the previous Tory government’s plans, Mr Jung said.Andy Gregory30 October 2024 14:511730299549What impact will Budget have on rail travel costs?Regulated train fares in England will increase by up to 4.6 per cent next year and the price of most railcards – excluding the discount mechanism for disabled passengers – will rise by £5, Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget.The increase in fares is one percentage point above July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which until 2023 was used by Westminster governments to set the cap on annual rises in regulated fares.But a Budget document published by the Treasury stated that the 4.6 per cent rise will be “the lowest absolute increase in three years”, with fare changes to come into force in March.Andy Gregory30 October 2024 14:451730299292Pound strengthens slightly after Budget, but FTSE remains in the redThe pound has strengthened following Rachel Reeves’ Budget – although the FTSE 100 Index remained in the red.Sterling, which was down 0.4 per cent against both the US dollar and euro prior to the Budget – later stood 0.2 per cent higher at $1.303 dollars and 0.1 per cent lower at €1.201.However, London’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.6 per cent.Andy Gregory30 October 2024 14:411730299172Budget sets Britain ‘on path towards national renewal’, says TUCThe Trades Union Congress has hailed Rachel Reeves’ first Budget as a “vital first step towards repairing and rebuilding Britain”, but warned that “there is still a lot more work to do to clean up 14 years of Tory mess and economic decline.TUC chief Paul Nowak said: “The chancellor was dealt a terrible hand by the last Conservative government – a toxic legacy of economic chaos, falling living standards and broken public services. But with today’s budget the Chancellor has acted decisively to deliver an economy that works for working people.“The government’s investment plans are a vital first step towards repairing and rebuilding Britain – securing the stronger growth, higher wages and decent public services that the country desperately needs.“Tax rises will ensure much-needed funds for our NHS, schools and the rest of our crumbling public services, with those who have the broadest shoulders paying a fairer share. The chancellor was right to prioritise hospitals and classrooms over private jets.“There is still a lot more work to do to clean up 14 years of Tory mess and economic decline – including better supporting and strengthening our social security system. But this budget sets us on an urgently needed path towards national renewal.”Andy Gregory30 October 2024 14:391730298913Watch: Rachel Reeves mocks Rishi Sunak with private jet announcementBudget: Rachel Reeves mocks Rishi Sunak with private jet announcementAndy Gregory30 October 2024 14:351730298764Sunak accuses Reeves of ‘tidal wave of anti-business regulations’Rishi Sunak has accused the chancellor of “delivering a tidal wave of anti-business regulations” and claimed the Labour Party is led by people “who have no experience of business”.The former prime minister told the Commons: “Today, the OBR has forecast growth is going to be lower under this government than it was forecast to be under the Conservatives, that’s the change they have brought.“This is what happens when the Labour Party is led by people who have no experience of business. Relentlessly talking down our economy, delivering a tidal wave of anti-business regulations, destroying our flexible labour market, and raising taxes to the highest level in our country’s history.“It’s a classic Labour agenda – higher taxes, higher borrowing, no plan for growth and working people paying the price.”Andy Gregory30 October 2024 14:321730298078Watch: Rachel Reeves pledges unprecedented NHS funding boost to transform healthcareRachel Reeves pledges unprecedented NHS funding boost to transform healthcareJoe Middleton30 October 2024 14:211730297604Sunak claims pensioners have been ‘squeezed’ in BudgetRishi Sunak has warned that Britain’s poorest pensioners have been “squeezed” in the Budget.He told the Commons: “Britain’s poorest pensioners squeezed, welfare spending out of control and a streak of tax rises they promised the working people of this country they would not do.The former prime minister said: “National insurance, up. Capital gains tax, up. Inheritance tax, up. Energy taxes, up. Business rates, up. First-time buyer stamp duty, up. Pensions tax, up. They have fiddled the figures.”Joe Middleton30 October 2024 14:131730297257How will the employer National Insurance rise affect you?Rachel Reeves has confirmed that employer national insurance contributions (NICs) will rise following an announcement at Labour’s first Budget.The measure has caused strong political debate, focused on whether it would break Labour’s manifesto pledge to not raise taxes on “working people.”Ministers and Treasury officials have indicated the government’s position is that the measure would not break their manifesto pledge. Meanwhile, Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson has argued it would be a “straightforward breach.”Here are the facts about the debate and how the measure could affect you:Joe Middleton30 October 2024 14:07 More

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    Watch: Rachel Reeves unveils Labour’s Budget as first female chancellor

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseWatch as Rachel Reeves presented Labour’s first Budget in 14 years on Wednesday, 30 October.The chancellor promised: “More pounds in people’s pockets. An NHS that is there when you need it. An economy that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all. Because that is the only way to improve living standards.”Ms Reeves announced tax hikes that will raise an eye-watering £40bn.The chancellor said Labour had inherited a £22bn funding “black hole” from the Tories and would never again “allow a government to play fast and loose with public finances.”She pledged to “invest, invest, invest” in order to “fix public services” after months of warning the public of the “tough choices” ahead.Ms Reeves confirmed increases to employers’ national insurance contributions, stamp duty on second homes and a scrapping of VAT exemption on private schools fees, and a new duty on vaping liquids.The Treasury already announced that the minimum wage will increase to £12.21.It falls short of the £12.60 an hour sum recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, but Ms Reeves described the 6.7 per cent increase as a “significant step” towards creating a “genuine living wage for working people.”Labour vowed not to raise taxes on “working people” in the days before the Budget announcement.Their pre-election manifesto promised not to increase income tax, national insurance, or VAT as part of their commitment to keep taxes low for these “working people.” More

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    Budget: Rachel Reeves mocks Rishi Sunak with private jet announcement

    Rachel Reeves mocked Tory leader Rishi Sunak as she detailed Labour’s Budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 30 October.The chancellor announced that the government will introduce an adjustment to air passenger duty meaning an increase of no more than £2 for an economy class short-haul flight, but was taking a different approach to private jets — increasing the rate of air passenger duty by a further 50 per cent.Joking that Mr Sunak’s “ears pricked up” at the mention of air passenger duty, Ms Reeves said: “That is equivalent to £450 per passenger for a private jet to, say, California?” More

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    Fuel duty: How will Rachel Reeves’s freeze on motorist tax affect you?

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves said it would be the “wrong choice” to increase fuel duty next year, saying she would continue the freeze and maintain the temporary 5p cut for another year.She told MPs during The Budget she has to “take some very difficult decisions” on tax, and noted to retain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty again would cost more than £3 billion next year.This means the 5p per litre cut in fuel duty introduced by the Conservative government in March 2022 will continue.Until the 5p cut, fuel duty had been frozen at 57.95p per litre since March 2011.VAT is charged at 20% on top of the total price of fuel.Ms Reeves said: “To retain the 5p cut and to freeze fuel duty again would cost over £3 billion next year.“At a time when the fiscal position is so difficult, I have to be frank with the House that this is a substantial commitment to make.“I have concluded that in these difficult circumstances – while the cost of living remains high and with a backdrop of global uncertainty – increasing fuel duty next year would be the wrong choice for working people.“It would mean fuel duty rising by 7p per litre. So, I have today decided to freeze fuel duty next year and I will maintain the existing 5p cut for another year, too.“There will be no higher taxes at the petrol pumps next year.”Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses outside 11 Downing Street More

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    We still use fax machines to contact train crews, Northern Rail official admits in excruciating grilling

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseA Northern Rail official has admitted the operator still uses fax machines to communicate with its train crews in an excruciating exchange about the state of its services.The shocking admission came as Northern mayors were grilling the rail operator on its poor performance on Wednesday, with issues raised including staffing problems, underinvestment, bad communication, and a lack of coordination with other parts of the sector – which has all led to repeated cancellations and growing anger among passengers.When Andy Burnham put to the rail official that he had heard Northern is still using fax machines, they argued that it was an issue of “depth and complexity” that would require a change in the agreement made with colleagues – a point disrupted by the incredulous Greater Manchester mayor.The Financial Times reported Mr Burnham posed the question over the use of fax machines: “Can that possibly be true?” to which the official responded, “It is very much true, chair.”The mayor demanded an explanation, “How? How on earth is that the case in 2024?” with the official replying: “That is a very fair and reasonable question. It’s our challenge to get rid of them. We have plans to get rid of them.”Mr Burnham stated: “You could do it tomorrow.” And the official agreed – but when the mayor asked if the operator was going to, they admitted it was not, “because the tools we use to get information and messages to our crew rely on faxes, amazingly. We will get there before we’re forced to because fax technology, in telecoms terms, turns off. Our plan that we’re putting forward…”Mr Burnham interrupted: “People will say: ‘How come we have three decades of privatisation when money was being poured into the railway and you are still communicating via fax machines in 2024?’”The official admitted: “It is a very fair question. Our job is to get rid of them. Our job is to unleash the full potential of emerging technological revolution,” but added that the “right agreement with our colleagues” needs to be reached.The mayor responded: “I hear what you say but it tells me though that your modernisation plan, like your training plan, is moving nowehere near fast enough. You could get rid of this stuff tomorrow. You could put in place IT to support people to communicate differently.”He went on to accuse Northern of having a “disregard for the travelling public”.Northern has been issued with a ‘breach notice’ by its owner, the Department for Transport, which requires the operator to produce an improvement plan More

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    What the inheritance tax rise in the Budget means for you

    Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseChancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed changes to inheritance tax (IHT) at the Budget as part of her tax rise package which aimed to raise £40bn.IHT has been reformed with the chancellor saying she aimed to take “a balanced approach.” The tax is a levy on the estate of someone who has died – meaning their property, money and possessions.Here’s everything you need to know about the changes and what they could mean for your family:What is inheritance tax?Inheritance tax is a levy applied to the estate of someone who has died, but only around 4 per cent of families end up paying it, as most estates fall below the tax threshold. Key to this exemption is that anything left to a spouse or civil partner is not subject to inheritance tax, regardless of the estate’s value. So if a deceased individual leaves their entire estate to their partner, even if valued at £10m, no inheritance tax will be charged. However, this exemption does not extend to partners who live together but are not married or in a civil partnership. Each individual has a £325,000 inheritance tax-free allowance. Estates valued below this threshold incur no tax, while those above it are taxed at 40 per cent on the excess.What changes are coming?Inheritance tax thresholds will be extended for two more years, until 2030. This means the first £325,000 of any estate can still be inherited tax-free until then. After this, it will still be taxed at 40 per cent. Ms Reeves did not reveal what changes could be expected after this.The chancellor also announced that inherited pensions will be brought into inheritance tax from April 2027.A few lesser-known rules have also been tweaked: business relief and the ability to pass on agricultural land tax-free. Ms Reeves said: “We will close the loophole made even bigger when the lifetime allowance was abolished by bringing inherited pensions into inheritance tax from April 2027.“We will reform agricultural property relief and business relied from April 2026, the first £1m of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax at all.“But for asset over £1m, IHT will apply with a 50 per cent relief and at an effective rate of 20 per cent. This will ensure we continue to protect small family farms with three quarters of claims unaffected by these changes.” More

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    Watch Keir Starmer’s message to Rishi Sunak during Tory leader’s final PMQs

    Rishi Sunak’s final appearance at the despatch box as Conservative party leader was marked by a jovial exchange with Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 30 October.The prime minister thanked his predecessor for his “decency” and wished his family the best for the future.They laughed together as Mr Sunak, who is MP for Richmond and Northallerton in North Yorkshire, told MPs: “I’m particularly looking forward to doing the coast to coast walk that runs through my constituency and many others.”Can I ask the Prime Minister to ensure that the Coast-to-Coast (walk) does indeed become Britain’s greatest National Trail, and in preparation for my return to the back benches, would he meet with me to discuss it?”Sir Keir Starmer replied: “I thought he was about to ask me to join him on the walk, but certainly I will meet him.” More