U.K. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves unveiled earlier today the Labour government’s first budget since winning the country’s general elections in July and returning to power after 14 years in opposition. The budget includes tax increases worth £40 billion, or about $52 billion, and increased investment in public services and infrastructure. (AP)
Our Take
The first budget reveal for any new government is always an eagerly awaited moment, but in the U.K., the Labour government’s budget announcement has been particularly anticipated. That’s in part because of the disastrous impact in 2022 of then-PM Liz Truss’ first—and only—budget announcement during her short-lived premiership, the memory of which has yet to fade.
But this reveal has also been so eagerly awaited because the Labour Party made big promises ahead of July’s general elections in anticipation of returning to power, including that they would not raise taxes for working class people. At the same time, 14 years of austerity under successive Tory governments have left Britain with serious challenges, including deteriorating infrastructure and underfinanced public services. The hollowing out of the National Health Service, or NHS—the country’s universal public health care system—has become a particularly powerful symbol for many of national decline.