Starmer and Reeves ditch plans to raise income tax in budget

Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves person scrapped plans to interruption their manifesto pledge and rise income taxation rates successful a monolithic U-turn little than 2 weeks from the budget.

The decision, first reported successful the Financial Times, comes aft a bruising fewer days which has brought astir a alteration of bosom successful Downing Street.

I recognize Downing Street has backed down amid fears astir the backlash from disgruntled MPs and voters.

The Treasury and Number 10 declined to comment.

The determination is simply a monolithic about-turn. In a quality league past week, the chancellor appeared to pave the mode for manifesto-breaking taxation rises successful the fund connected 26 November.

She spoke of hard choices and insisted she could neither summation borrowing nor chopped spending successful bid to stabilise the economy, telling the nationalist "everyone has to play their part".

The determination to backtrack was communicated to the Office for Budget Responsibility connected Wednesday successful a submission of "major measures", according to the Financial Times.

Tory shadiness concern caput Andrew Griffith said: "We've had the longest ever run-up to a budget, damaging the system with uncertainty, and yet - with conscionable days to spell - it is wide determination is chaos successful No 10 and No 11."

This breaking quality communicative is being updated and much details volition beryllium published shortly.

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