Rachel Reeves to announce £40,000,000,000 tax rises in ‘painful’ Budget 2024

Rachel Reeves is set to deliver the Labour Party’s first budget in 14 years this afternoon, setting out an agenda which is likely to define her party’s time in office.

The Chancellor will announce the Autumn Budget in the Commons today, Wednesday October 30, at 12:30pm, right after Prime Minister’s Questions.

Central to the her plans is a vow to put ‘more pounds in people’s pockets’, fix the NHS and grow the economy, despite warnings of tough decisions to come.

But she is also widely expected to increase up to £40 billion of tax rises to fill a £22bn black hole left by the Tories.

A 6.7% hike in the minimum wage to £12.21 an hour is among the measures included, which will mean an extra £1,400 a year for a full-time worker earning the main minimum wage rate, known as the national living wage, from April.

But this will be offset by raising National Insurance contributions from employers, which businesses have argued will make it harder to hire staff and create jobs, negating the pay-rise to workers.