Until last week, Rachel Reeves had been expected to raise rates of income tax in the face of a blackhole in her spending plans.

The move would have been a flagrant breach of Labour’s manifesto promise not to up rates, but it was thought that the Chancellor believed a hike to be the best way of plugging the hole in the public finances.

It has recently been reported that she has u-turned on the move. New Feature

In Short

Quick Stories. Same trusted journalism.

This could pose difficulties, as a 1p increase to all income tax rates could raise around £10bn, and without such a rise, money would need to be sought from elsewhere.

The party’s manifesto pledged not to increase national insurance (NI), the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, or VAT. But rising significant amount

See Full Page