What time is the budget today as Rachel Reeves expected to raise minimum wage – latest news

Rachel Reeves is expected to announce up to £35bn in tax hikes in today’s Budget, as she seeks to plug the so-called £22bn “black hole” which Labour says has been left by the Tories.

These may include a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions and an increase in capital gains tax, according to reports.

Earlier this week, Sir Keir Starmer laid the ground for taxes to rise, as he insisted it was “time to embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality so we can come together behind a credible, long-term plan”.

An influential new Labour MP has said the days of Boris Johnson’s boosterism are over and that Rachel Reeves is prepared to do “the hard yards” to make Britain great again, reports our political correspondent Archie Mitchell.

Torsten Bell said “everybody has given up” on the former prime minister’s approach of, “if you just say Britain is great, then that will make it great”.

“We have to do the hard yards of making it great again, and that is what we are going to do,” Mr Bell said.

The former director of the Resolution Foundation think tank said the British public “are not stupid” and will give Labour time to see “whether we are in the business of starting to turn this country around”.

He told Sky News: “Does that mean they like every measure we take in terms of how we do that? No, that’s politics, but, but we will expect to see results come the next election.”

In this video report, The Independent takes a closer look at the chancellor’s life, from being raised in southeast London by her teacher parents, to becoming a school chess champion and working at the Bank of England:

The armed forces are in line for a £3bn boost in the new Labour government’s first Budget, according to reports.

The chancellor is set to announce an increase in the defence budget for next year in her fiscal statement in the Commons on Wednesday, part of which will be used to give soldiers a pay rise backdated to April, the Telegraph reported.

The funding will also be used to buy weapons, with the aim of replenishing stockpiles depleted by donations to Ukraine.

However, a pathway to increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national economic output as demanded by the Tories will not be in the Budget, the paper reported.

Rachel Reeves has promised to “invest, invest, invest” as she seeks to put “more pounds in people’s pockets”.

But the more positive tone has come after months of warning the public of the tough decisions that lay ahead.

Now, Ms Reeves faces growing numbers of warnings and concerns as details of her budget emerge.

Here are some of the fears raised about the impact of some of Ms Reeves’ measures:

The minimum wage rise will be the first time in nearly a decade that it has not risen faster than typical wage growth, according to a leading economist.

“This smaller rise in the minimum wage – the first time in almost a decade when it has risen no faster than typical wage growth – is sensible in the context of an expected rise in employer national insurance contributions at the same time,” said Nye Cominetti, the principal economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank.

He said the Low Pay Commission should monitor the impact of higher minimum wage rates on employment, including the risk of firms switching to self-employed labour to minimise tax bills.

The Independent will be bringing the latest updates on the Budget throughout the day.

Labour’s first budget since March 2010 is set to lay out major changes to the UK’s taxation, borrowing, and spending commitments.

Here are some things we might expect:

1. Tax rises. An increase on raise employer national insurance payments is one of a number of taxes Labour could be set to increase. This also includes Inheritance Tax and the removal of the VAT exemption on private schools.

2. Borrowing. After an adjustment to fiscal rules, Reeves is expected to have up to an extra £50bn of borrowing to invest in infrastructure building such as roads, railways and hospitals.

3. Fuel duty and winter fuel payments. Ministers have already announced plans to remove the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners, instead introducing a means-testing system. Ministers have also faced calls not to increase fuel duty.

4. Education. Rachel Reeves is believed to have set aside £1.4 billion for crumbling schools, in a budget which she says will prioritise education and childcare. An extra £1.8 billion will expand government-funded nursery care.

5. Health. Ms Reeves is expected to announce a funding deal for the NHS which goes far beyond inflation.

Stay with us for all the latest on Ms Reeves autumn budget.

The Independent has been told that union bosses have made it clear they expect massive public sector rises in the new year “after 14 years of Tory austerity and wage constraint”.

It is another headache for the chancellor who is expected to be forced to bring in some of the biggest tax rises in history to cover a £40bn black hole in Labour’s spending plans. Ms Reeves is expected to increase employers national insurance contributions and capital gains tax among a range of measures.

The move has faced ongoing backlash from the sector, including over the disproportionate impact on already-stretched smaller, specialist schools, as well as the short timescale involved and fears of a mass exodus of pupils.

The Martin Lewis Money Saving Show returned on Tuesday (29 October), and saw the financial guru take a question about the winter fuel payment from a woman whose husband died just two weeks ago.

The woman wanted to know if she would be eligible for pension credit.

Mr Lewis said: “You have to be on an income of under £11,400 to be eligible. It’s a very tight means test and is critically underclaimed.”

Mr Lewis then revealed he will host a budget special of his show on Thursday and hopes the chancellor will join him.

He warned: “I will be talking about winter fuel payment without you chancellor, so you may as well be here. It would be a lot better.”