‘Today was a nod and a wink. Labour said it wouldn't raise taxes – it's raising taxes’
Rachel Reeves delivered a pre-budget speech, which has only served to fuel suggestions that she is set to increase taxes on working people. What was the point of the early-morning address, and taking so much time to say so little?
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In brief…
- Rachel Reeves attempted to lay groundwork for her 2025 budget in an early-morning speech – but gave almost no reassurance, and only increased speculation that Labour will break its manifesto promise to not increase taxes on working people.
- Aside from the lack of clarity, her calls for the public to help shoulder the burden left The News Agents feeling “rankled”, with many people already struggling across the country.
- What Reeves delivered, Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel say, was an “utter muddle”, and only highlights a government which is out of options.
What’s the story?
“Each of us must do our bit", said Rachel Reeves as she laid the groundwork for her November budget – but that won't come as much comfort to people in the UK already struggling to pay their bills.
The chancellor gave a speech on Tuesday (4 November), described by The News Agents as full of "vague platitudes", and one which has only increased speculation that Labour is set to break its key election promise to not raise taxes on workers.
In the speech, Reeves blamed the fiscal black hole left by the previous Tory government (again) and the threat of Donald Trump's tariffs for the UK's bleak and difficult situation the UK finds itself in – but ultimately said little of note.
She refused to rule out tax increases, said economic pressures would not be swept "under the carpet", and said Labour priorities were to cut NHS waiting lists, national debt and the cost of living – but left it to journalists to attempt to fill in the gaps to work out what she really meant.
Emily Maitlis says Reeves "plea to the electorate" to do their bit was an attempt to inspire a sense of wartime spirit, but instead left anyone listening feeling "rankled" by her calls for everyone to share the responsibility of fiscal recovery.
"The burden that we're all carrying already is that taxes have never been this high in 70 years – so let's put that burden to the side," Emily says.
"Why are we now responsible, and why are we now carrying the burden for the mistakes that Labour have made?”
Why was Rachel Reeves' speech so confusing?
Not only did Rachel Reeves' speech, held to lay the groundwork for this year's budget, fail to lay anything of the sort, it also covered the same ground she went over in her 2024 budget.
In her first budget as chancellor, Reeves promised it was a "once in a parliament reset" and promised the Labour government would not deliver any further budgets including tax increases or borrowing.
But that is precisely what is now expected of her.
"The whole point of this speech, we understand, is that she wanted to try and prepare the public," says Emily.
"She wanted to tell the public what was coming at the end of November, but she didn't tell the public what was coming at the end of November. She's left it to journalists in the room to interpret from the things that she didn't say, about what might be about to happen.
"That is not a natural way of communicating with a population. That's not a natural way of communicating with the electorate."
She describes the speech, and the confusion Reeves has caused by spelling out so little, as "ludicrous", especially at a time when the population is "desperate for politicians to restore trust."
"We want that relationship to work. We want them to say what they're going to do and to do it – or to promise not to do something, and to not do it," Emily adds.
"What we've got now is an utter muddle. It sounds as if a promise to the electorate made in the manifesto last year is going to be broken, but it hasn't even been spelled out."
Reeves' speech today, she adds, has only made voters more confused, and was not "helpful in any sense".
Why this is a 'dangerous moment' for Reeves
Reeves' speech came three weeks before she is due to deliver her second budget as chancellor, but the problems she referenced – tariffs, fiscal difficulties left behind by the Tory government – have been evident for many months.
Jon Sopel says Reeves, and the Labour government, are out of "good options", less than 18 months into their time in power.
"They thought they were doing a big, tough budget last year – a tax raising budget," Jon says.
"They thought it was one and done, but they're having to come back again because they didn't leave themselves enough fiscal headroom.
"They have made mistakes, and they're now trying to reposition."
But that attempt at repositioning lacked any clarity, at all.
"Today was about a nod and a wink. I hope you understand what I'm saying, even though I'm not spelling it out, we're going to raise your taxes," Jon adds.
"They've said they wouldn't raise taxes – they're raising taxes.
"I think this will be a really dangerous moment for the Labour government, if that's what Rachel Reeves does – and it looks like she is going to do it in three weeks time."