Latest budget: Reeves points out none of her measures boost growth as she defends tax hikes

After weeks of leaks and wild speculationRachel Reeves revealed her second budget in a speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.

Use The Independent’s Budget calculator, created by tax advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, to find out what the announcements mean for you:

Inflation is still high and the government is introducing £26 billion of new tax rises – including a cap on the personal tax threshold, Changes in salary sacrifice planscash isa allowances and dividends, and a mansion tax for homes worth more than £2 million – families, savers and investors could all feel the effects.

Personal finance expert Gabriel Nussbaum will present details for readers during A live question and answer session today at 1 pm – Explaining what each change means for your money, when it takes effect, and how you can plan ahead.

If you have a question, please submit Here,

The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Tory MPs were pleased by the Conservative leader’s speech attacking the budget.

Ms Badenoch’s position has been under pressure amid poor poll ratings and a weak performance in the House of Commons.

But his speech, in which he said the Budget was “utterly disgraceful” to the Chancellor and called on her to resign, has caused consternation among his own backbenchers.

Polling expert and Tory peer Lord Hayward told Independent: “The irony is that the Budget may be about saving Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer’s jobs – but a lot more could be done to save Cammy’s jobs.”

Millie Cook, political correspondent for The Independent, reports:

“I’m not going to write future budgets,” the Chancellor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “There is a lot of speculation ahead of this Budget… I am now committed to growing the economy so that we have money for public services so we can reduce taxes.”

Millie Cook, political correspondent for The Independent, reports:

OBR Chairman Richard Hughes said that “none of the measures” in Rachel Reeves’ budget will have “any significant impact” on growth.

“In this particular budget, no measure, whether positive or negative… will have any impact on our forecast,” he said.

“There has been a significant increase in both taxes and spending in this budget.

Asked about his comments, the Chancellor said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “None of what they say in the documents meets the threshold that they now need to make a single policy. So they have not acted on the India trade deal, the EU trade deal, the US trade deal, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will get royal assent in December, pension reform, the entrepreneurship package that I set out.”

“That said, none of them individually… meet their 0.1 threshold. But I am confident that the growth policies we are pursuing will drive our economy forward.”

Economists have said it is unlikely that Rachel Reeves’ budget “will benefit economic growth”.

Chantal Van Steprien, partner at tax firm Blick Rothenberg, said her overall assessment of yesterday’s budget is one of chaos – something she said will be remembered for “many years to come”.

“The stress this whole process has caused due to leaks is a disaster and has caused unnecessary stress to working people, pensioners and businesses,” he said.

“Freezing the border for an additional three years, a classic stealth tax, would mean not only that middle-class families would have to pay more tax, but would bring many additional relatively low-income individuals into the tax net, including those who would have to file a tax return for the first time, such as pensioners.”

He said: “The budget will likely lead to higher inflation and higher unemployment and is unlikely to benefit the country’s economic growth.”

Millie Cook, political correspondent for The Independent, reports:

Rachel Reeves has hit back at critics of her Budget, warning: “A lot of people have tried to write me off over the last 16 months, and you’re not going to write my obituary today”.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said: “I will not apologize for removing the two-child limit.” When put to the Chancellor that she had raised taxes on working people to put it into welfare, she said: “I don’t accept that.

“The OBR say that their revisions to productivity, reflecting the Conservatives’ legacy, are going to reduce tax revenues by £16 billion, and as a result, we will have to fill that gap. But if we can grow the economy, as I am determined to do, we can get that money back.”

He stressed that he was “determined that we will beat the watchdog’s growth forecasts”.

Rachel Reeves has hit back at allegations that yesterday’s Budget was an attempt to appease restive Labor backbenchers and save their jobs as the Government hiked taxes to pay for more welfare spending.

He told Sky News: “This was my Budget yesterday, focused on my priorities and the Government’s priorities, cutting the cost of living, the NHS, cutting waiting lists and cutting borrowing and debt.”

Millie Cook, political correspondent for The Independent, reports:

Rachel Reeves has said OBR chief Richard Hughes “disappointed me” with yesterday’s unprecedented budget leak, but insisted she still has confidence in him.

The Chancellor said there would be an investigation into the leak, in which the OBR’s response to the Budget was published online about an hour before Ms Reeves was due to address the Commons.

Asked whether he still had confidence in the chairman of the OBR, the Chancellor told Sky News: “Richard Hughes wrote to me last evening apologizing for his mistake.”

This was a serious error and a serious violation. They have announced an investigation which will report back to me very soon, but I trust Richard and the OBR, they do important work. “But what happened yesterday disappointed me and it shouldn’t have happened and it should never happen again.”