“THERE isn’t a magic money tree,” Rachel Reeves said as she refused to rule out income tax hikes in England during a pre-Budget speech.
The Chancellor spoke from Downing Street on Tuesday to “contextualise” the Autumn Budget, which will be set out in full on November 26, amid speculation she would raise the basic rate by 2p in England later this month.
Asked by Sky News if the hike would make a “mockery” of those who voted Labour, given one of the party’s key manifesto pledges stated they would “ensure taxes on working people are kept as low as possible”.
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Reeves dodged the question, saying: “Today is about setting the context for the Budget.”
A journalist from the i newspaper questioned again if Labour would increase income tax after proposed cuts to welfare were shot down earlier this year, to which Reeves replied: “All decisions have consequences and if you spend more on one thing, there’s less money to spend on something else.
“I’ve always been really clear about that. There isn’t a magic money tree for any type of spending and any decisions to spend in one area will have consequences for other areas as well.”
The Chancellor blamed previous tax hikes on inheriting a "£22 billion black hole" from the Tories, adding that the Autumn Budget will be one of growth “with fairness at its heart”.
Reeves went on to say the most “impactful” aspects of her Budget will be determined by the UK’s economic productivity and that the key focus will be on tackling the national debt and bringing inflation down.
“As I take my decisions on both tax and spend, I will do what is necessary to protect families from high inflation and interest rates, to protect our public services from a return to austerity and to ensure that the economy that we hand down to future generations is secure with debt under control,” she said.
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“If we are to build the future of Britain together, we will all have to contribute to that effort.
“Each of us must do our bit for the security of our country and the brightness of its future."
The SNP, however, said the Labour Party had "misled voters" and that families were being "forced to foot the bill" for the UK Government's failures.
"The Labour Party misled voters. They promised things would get better but under Keir Starmer they’ve got even worse," Dave Doogan MP said.
"Brexit Britain is broken and families are being forced to foot the bill for Labour Party failure. Labour stood on a manifesto promise of not increasing taxes – it’s clear they knew this wasn’t going to be true.
"So the Chancellor is back with another crisis budget making more excuses for the mess the Labour Party have created.
"Public finances in a worse state than when they entered Downing Street, and the cost of living soaring – with energy bills, food prices and inflation all rising.
"The Labour Party have broken their promises. Instead of forcing taxpayers to pick up the pieces yet again, the Chancellor should be reversing Brexit and helping families.
"With broken Brexit Britain in constant crisis, Scotland needs a fresh start with independence.”
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