Rachel Reeves, the UK’s Chancellor, is staring down one of the toughest financial messes in recent political memory — and it’s a trap her own Labour Party helped set.

Here’s the situation. Reeves can’t slash public spending because her backbench MPs have already shown they’ll revolt, just like they did when disability benefits were on the chopping block. Borrowing more is off the table, too. With Britain’s national debt creeping up to £3 trillion, the bond markets would go into full meltdown.

She’s also sworn she won’t break her “iron-clad” fiscal rules. That leaves her with one very dangerous route to plug the staggering £50 billion budget hole : raising taxes. And not just any taxes — the kind that make voters furious and could cost her career.

Reeves has some options, but most are

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