Labour’s Budget will crush growth

Rachel Reeves didn’t want to surprise anyone with this Budget. She didn’t want to shock the markets, nor did she want any accusation that she had played fast and loose with the public finances. So by the time the Chancellor stood up in the Commons today, the bulk of her big decisions were already public knowledge, with just the details to come. 

Still, that won’t make today’s fiscal event any less memorable – or painful. This Budget ushers in a new era: one where the tax burden sits at its highest level since the war, where tax hikes push more people out of the labour market, and where growth forecasts actually decline in the second half of this Parliament. Despite promising that more borrowing and public sector investment would lead to more economic growth, the assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility shows, instead, an economy set for continued stagnation.