Another one already?published at 05:05 Greenwich Mean Time
Emily Atkinson
Live page editor
Image source, TreasuryLike us, Rachel Reeves was up late into the night preparing for the Budget
Things have changed a lot since the last Budget in March.
First of all, there’s a whole new government and chancellor.
And there are positive signs that the economy is in a better place: inflation is coming down, a further cut to interest rates is widely expected, and growth forecasts are increasingly upbeat.
Rachel Reeves’ assessment isn’t quite so rosy. She’s claiming Labour inherited the “worst set of circumstances since the Second World War” following 14 years of Conservative rule.
Against that backdrop, the pitch from the chancellor today will be two-fold:
- Plugging the so-called £22bn “black hole” in the nation’s finances
- Developing a plan for economic growth
But how might this be achieved?
Reeves is warning of “difficult decisions” and government sources say she’s looking to make tax rises and spending cuts to the value of £40bn.
We’re still light on detail, but all will become clear when the chancellor delivers the Budget to MPs at 12:30 GMT.
We’ll be covering the whole thing here – settle in and stay tuned.
