Reeves aims to prepare voters and markets for possible budget tax rises

<p>Speech attempts to take back narrative with talk of ‘years of economic mismanagement’, Brexit and tariffs</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/04/rachel-reeves-avoids-ruling-out-tax-rises-as-autumn-budget-looms">Reeves avoids ruling out tax rises as autumn budget looms</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2025/nov/04/tax-rises-inevitable-rachel-reeves-budget-speech-borrowing-pound-stock-markets-business-live-news">Business live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>There were two audiences for Rachel Reeves’s hastily arranged early morning speech on Tuesday: the financial markets, and Labour’s disillusioned voters.</p><p>As she made clear, though only obliquely, Keir Starmer’s government is considering abandoning its pre-election pledge not to raise income tax, backed into a corner by dire forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/04/rachel-reeves-budget-tax-rises-speech-brexit-tariffs">Continue reading...</a>