Millions more people will be dragged into paying higher income tax after Rachel Reeves bet her political future on a £26bn tax raid on the middle classes in her make-or-break second Budget.
In what she branded a “Labour values” Budget, the chancellor moved to appease the left in her party with a package of measures that included 43 separate tax rises – according to shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride – taking the tax burden in the UK to its highest level in history. But she finally brought an end to the much-criticised two-child benefit cap, which campaigners say will help lift thousands of children out of poverty, and announced a £73bn splurge in welfare spending.
