UK budget to target cost of living crisis as Reeves battles to keep Labour MPs on side

Rachel Reeves will promise to tackle Britain’s cost of living crisis and deliver fiscal stability in Wednesday’s budget, which is billed as a decisive moment for the fate of Keir Starmer’s beleaguered government.

The chancellor will say she will do what is needed to shore up the economy as she raises billions of pounds worth of taxes to help offset lower than expected growth forecasts.

But with disquiet among Labour MPs over the government’s handling of the run-up to the budget – including trade-offs as a result of the decision not to go ahead with a rise in income tax rates – she is battling to keep her party on side.

The government has been buffeted by a series of damaging leaks and speculation, much of it prompted by ministers, as they attempted to lay the groundwork to avoid spook