Britain’s budget is heavy on spending but light on reform
Rachel Reeves has raised both borrowing and taxes by historic amounts
No one could argue the numbers in Britain’s budget were too small. On October 30th Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, laid out over £40bn ($52bn) in tax rises, more than any budget has raised in at least half a century. Borrowing went up, too. Ms Reeves loosened the rules constraining borrowing to invest, and then ran close to the limit of her newly generous yardstick.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Spend now, reform eventually”
Britain November 2nd 2024
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From the November 2nd 2024 edition
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