LONDON: Britain’s unpopular center-left Labour government sought to seize the political narrative Wednesday with a tax-raising budget that it hopes will boost economic growth by fostering a stable debt outlook, reduce child poverty and ease cost-of-living pressures.
But the entire contents of the budget were leaked half an hour before Treasury chief Rachel Reeves delivered the budget statement in the House of Commons, in a sign of the chaos that has engulfed the government during weeks of mixed messaging and political infighting.
The government was elected in a landslide victory in July 2024 on a promise not to raise taxes on income for working people. Reeves acknowledged some of the budget’s $34 billion in tax hikes, largely to increase the buffer available to the government in the event of any future shocks, broke the spirit of that pledge and would face criticism.
But, she said, “I have yet to see a credible or a fairer alternative plan for working people.
“These are my choices — the right choices for a fairer, a stronger, and a more secure Britain,” she said.
