On Wednesday the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, set out the Labour government’s debut budget in parliament. She told the House of Commons that Labour would “rebuild Britain”, promising more money for the NHS, schools and public transport . “In 1945 it was the Labour party that rebuilt our country from the rubble of the second world war.
In 1964 it was the Labour party that rebuilt Britain with the white heat of technology. And in 1997 it was the Labour party that rebuilt our schools and hospitals,” she said. “Today, it falls to this Labour party, to this Labour government, to rebuild Britain once again.
” Spending will rise by about £70bn a year, funded by borrowing and tax increases, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility . “It feels like a big budget to me,” the Guardian’s special correspondent Heather Stewart tells Helen Pidd . “It feels like a really historic moment.
I’ve covered a lot of budgets going back 20 years and more, and it’s huge in terms of the increase in taxes and spending and borrowing. It’s a kind of old-fashioned tax-and-spend budget in a way.” Support the Guardian today: theguardian.
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