Overview
- OBR chair Richard Hughes told MPs that at no point before the Budget did the Treasury face a gap larger than £2.5bn, rising to a £4.2bn surplus by 31 October.
- Rachel Reeves defended raising roughly £26bn through measures including frozen income tax thresholds, saying she chose to protect public services and place more of the burden on wealthier households.
- The OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook was published online before the Commons statement, prompting an investigation led by a cybersecurity expert and an offer by Hughes to resign if confidence is lost.
- Opponents including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Richard Tice accused Reeves of misleading the public and demanded her removal, allegations Downing Street and the Treasury rejected.
- Economists questioned the credibility of revenue that is heavily backloaded toward the late 2020s, and noted that briefed plans for an income tax rise were dropped despite no change to OBR forecasts after 31 October.