A cabinet minister has said that he thinks Wednesday’s Budget will be the “most honest” than in “some years”. Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Times Radio the Government “levelled with people” before the Budget.
“There’s no point in telling people everything’s absolutely fine when the prison system is in a state of collapse, when NHS waiting lists are at a record high, when we’ve got crumbling schools,” he said. “There’s so much that’s wrong that we’ve got to fix and it’s important to set that out honestly and candidly for the public.”
He added: “I think we’ll have the most honest Budget on Wednesday that we’ve had for some years.”
The comments come as the Prime Minister prepares to make a speech ahead of the Autumn Statement on October 30. Today, Monday October 28, Sir Keir Starmer will speak of “unprecedented challenges” facing the UK.
He is expected to say: “We are tackling the biggest challenges in our economy. Higher investment – we’re dealing with it. Planning – we’re reforming it. The labour market – we’re getting people back to work, but also making work pay.
“On competition, we’re stripping out the needless regulation that holds back growth and private investment. And all of this built on that foundation, economic stability.
“This is what fixing the foundations and delivering change means. Everyone in this country will benefit from this. Everyone can wake up on Thursday and understand that a new future is being built, a better future.”
On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce tax hikes including a rise in National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid by employers. Labour has said its pledge not to include NICs for “working people” refers to staff within companies.
It has also been hinted that the freezing of income tax thresholds could be extended and the tax on asset sales, such as property and shares, could be hiked.
“If people want to criticise the path we choose, that’s their prerogative,” Sir Keir is expected to say today. “But let them then spell out a different direction. If they think the state has grown too big, let them tell working people which public services they would cut. If they don’t see our long-term investment in infrastructure as necessary, let them explain to working people how they would grow the economy for them.”