Prime Minister Keir Starmer has conceded that the Budget 'asked everybody to contribute' but insisted the government 'kept to our manifesto' despite raising taxes by £26bn. The measures include freezing income tax and national insurance thresholds for an additional three years, which will push more than 1.7 million workers into paying tax or into a higher band by 2030-31.
Labour had promised during the election campaign not to raise taxes on working people. Asked if he would apologise for breaking that promise, Starmer told Sky News: 'I accept the challenge that we've asked everybody to contribute. I want to be really clear on why we've done that.' He cited the need to protect the NHS, fund schools, and bear down on the cost of living.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted working people would pay more but said she had kept that to an 'absolute minimum' by increasing taxes on betting firms, mansions, and landlords. She defended her decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which will cost £3bn a year by 2029-30, as a 'good investment' in children's futures. Starmer said he was 'not going to apologise' for taking 450,000 children out of poverty.
Reeves declined to rule out further tax rises next year but vowed to 'defy' economic forecasts, noting that the OBR had upgraded its growth forecast for this year from 1% to 1.5%. She said: 'Lots of people have tried to write me off over the last 16 months. And you're not going to write my obituary today.'
