Rachel Reeves refuses to rule out tax changes from March

The Labour Party Chancellor and MP was speaking out on Wednesday as she delivered a landmark speech on growth on January 29.
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Rachel Reeves has not ruled out changes to income tax or National Insurance at the Spring Budget. The Labour Party Chancellor and MP was speaking out on Wednesday as she delivered a landmark speech on growth on January 29.

Responding to Daniel Martin from the Telegraph, who asked: "can you rule out introducing tax and spending measures in the spring statement? You might be missing your fiscal rules by then," Ms Reeves had her say in reply.

Ms Reeves says that is two months away and won’t give a running forecast. A lot can change, she says. But she says the fiscal rules are non-negotiable, adding: "I am not going to write five years’ worth of budgets in the first six months of office, but that was a once-in-a-generation budget to fix the inheritance and to draw a line under the economic and fiscal mismanagement of the Conservatives."

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She said: "There’s a lack of predictability in our regulators, which is bad for business and bad for our economy. So I won’t apologise for wanting to reform how regulation works in Britain." The Conservatives have released a statement responding to Reeves’ speech.

Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said: "The biggest barriers to growth in this country are Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer and their job destroying budget - and nothing in the chancellor’s speech proved otherwise. What’s worse, the anti-growth chancellor could not rule out coming back with yet more tax rises in March.

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"This is a Labour government run by politicians who do not understand business, or where wealth comes from. Under new leadership, the Conservatives will continue to back businesses and hold this government to account."

Green MP Siân Berry said: "The chancellor talked about the ‘costs of irresponsibility’ but expanding airports in the face of a climate emergency is the most irresponsible announcement from any government I have seen since the Liz Truss budget.

"The chancellor also talked about ‘the sights and sounds of the future’, but these will be dismal for millions if the government doesn’t take the action the UK has promised to cut carbon. We are already seeing the impact of climate breakdown on extreme weather and this will only get worse if ministers remain distracted by the lobbying of the most wasteful form of transport.

"We are also expecting formal planning decisions from ministers on Gatwick and Luton airport expansion, which the Chancellor pre-empted today. Giving these permissions in the month before vital new advice arrives from the Climate Change Committee, is nothing short of reckless."