It seems pretty certain now that having flirted with just about every tax rise under the sun, Rachel Reeves is going to increase income tax in her Budget on 26 November. That much became clear when Keir Starmer declined to take Kemi Badenoch’s invitation to rule out a rise in income tax rates at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday. Previously when asked the question, he had always suggested that the government would stick to its promise not to raise the main rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT.

Reeves will no doubt blame Brexit (as she already has done), the Tories (ditto) and Donald Trump for her fiscal black hole which is now forcing her to break the manifesto promise. She will try to make out that she is the honest one who has been undone by all the dishonest people around

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