Budget 2024 live news: Reeves to pledge millions for NHS appointments in autumn statement
Rachel Reeves will announce Labour’s first Budget in 14 years tomorrow, leading one of the most anticipated fiscal events in over two decades.
Ahead of her announcement, the chancellor has reportedly signed off an above-inflation six per cent increase to the national wage, boosting the income of millions of workers.
About 1.6 million people are in line to receive the new national living wage of £12.12 and £12.20 from next year, Ms Reeves is expected to reveal tomorrow.
Sharing more positive news on the eve of the Budget, the chancellor has also announced more details of NHS spending, pledging funding for two million extra appointments.
The new details come after Keir Starmer delivered a stark speech warning of “unprecedented” economic challenges during a visit to the West Midlands yesterday.
The prime minister is facing backlash after announcing that the £2 bus fare cap will be raised to £3 at the end of the year during the pre-Budget speech.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event here, on The Independent’s liveblog.
Key Points
Budget leaks necessary, Streeting says
Disclosing parts of the Budget ahead of time is necessary to avoid shocking the markets, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said.
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle had complained that it is “unacceptable to go around the world telling everybody” about “major” new policy announcements rather than giving the information first to MPs.
“Look, I can firstly confirm for the benefit of Mr Speaker, in case he’s listening, certainly, what I’m announcing today is the delivery of Labour’s manifesto, so we are honouring our commitments,” Mr Streeting told Times Radio.
“So, you know, I hope I don’t find myself on the wrong side of the Speaker and, look, there’s a serious point here, which is it was important for the Chancellor when she was in Washington last week to explain the context in which she’s making some big reforms to our economy and the way that she handles investment in our national infrastructure.
“That was important to make sure that this Budget lands in the right context with the financial markets.
“We saw what happened with Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng when they ignored the Office for Budget Responsibility and sidelined them, when they took the markets by surprise, they ended up tanking the economy, and we are still paying the price for it.
“But we do take the speaker seriously. We take Parliament seriously. We are members of Parliament first and foremost, and we’ve all heard very, very clearly and plainly what Mr Speaker said yesterday, and we will certainly be taking that into account in terms of our conduct in the coming days, weeks and months.”
Boost for low-paid as minimum wage set to rise by 6% in Budget
Rachel Reeves will raise the minimum wage by 6 per cent at Wednesday’s Budget, handing a pay rise to more than a million workers on low incomes.
The chancellor is due to announce the inflation-busting hike when she delivers her first financial statement, with the increase higher than predicted in September.
NHS facing ‘real problems this winter’ and Budget cash will not prevent avoidable deaths, Streeting warns
The NHS faces “real problems this winter”, the health secretary has admitted as he refused to rule out the prospect of people waiting on trolleys and in corridors over the coming months.
Speaking on a joint visit to St George’s Hospital with chancellor Rachel Reeves, Wes Streeting said the extra money the health service is set to receive in Wednesday’s Budget might not prevent avoidable deaths and another winter crisis over the coming months.
The chancellor is expected to pump billions of pounds into the health service, including £1.5bn for new surgical hubs and scanners and £70m for radiotherapy machines.
Recap: Starmer is making promises for ‘working people’ but is actually echoing Rishi Sunak
Keir Starmer and his ministers have struggled to say who they mean by “working people” in the run up to Wednesday’s Budget.
But that did not stop the prime minister, doubling and tripling down on the term which got him through the election.
If Sir Keir does not know who they are he optimistically noted: “Working people know who they are.”
There was also an announcement of a £240 million fund to get people back into work – so more working people.
In truth though he is now echoing the words of his Tory predecessor Rishi Sunak. Sunak spent the months before the election saying he was making difficult “long term decisions”.
Now Starmer is talking about “tough decisions” not looking at the “short term sticking plasters”.
While though he wants a government for working people, the reality is that he is talking about record tax rises to cover as much as £40 billion in a black hole in his spending plans.
The reality is though that what happens now only matters for him in the way that voters see Labour in five years time. He is banking on pain now and better times later.
Most of all he is banking on economic growth. If he does not deliver then Labour will be facing trouble in 2029.
Reeves warns that Budget pain will just be the beginning with more difficult choices to come
Rachel Reeves has warned that tomorrow’s Budget will just be the beginning of painful measures to fix “14 years of Tory damage”.
But with the prime minister also warning of “tough choices” ahead, Ms Reeves suggested that the expected tax rises this week will not be the end of difficult decisions to fix the country.
She has promised to produce economic growth but also pledged to her party that there will be “no new austerity”.
What should I do with my savings ahead of the Budget?
Ahead of the Budget on 30 October, there has been fevered speculation about changes to pension savers’ tax allowances and other perks.
Reports that pensioners could have tax breaks cut or axed led to savers withdrawing chunks of their retirement pots ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s big announcement.
Hunt accuses Budget watchdog of political bias
Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has accused the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) of shielding the Labour Party from scrutiny as it prepares to announce tax hikes.
In a letter to OBR chair Richard Hughes, Mr Hunt criticises the organisation for preparing to release a report timed with his successor Rachel Reeves’s first Budget, which addresses a £22bn financial gap attributed to Tory policies. The report is likely to be critical of the last government.
Budget rumours: Pension tax relief reform
Pension tax relief is a reduction of the amount of tax paid on private pensions. It helps workers save for retirement by boosting their pension pots.
The amount of tax relief a person is granted is based on their income tax. It will effectively cancel out tax on pension contributions up to a maximum of £60,000.
After this, contributions will be taxed at either 20, 40, or 45 per cent, depending on which income tax rate the worker falls into.
However, the chancellor is thought to be considering a flat 30 per cent pension tax relief rate. This would mean that higher earners would effectively pay 10 per cent in tax, while those on the additional rate would pay 15.
The measure would raise around £3 billion a year, with 7 million earners paying more tax. But it would be better news for basic rate earners, who would actually begin to receive a 10 per cent boost to their pension contributions.
Evaluating the idea last year, the IFS said it would “redistribute the burden of taxation from the bottom 80 per cent to the top 20 per cent of earners.”
