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Chancellor to unveil series of tax hikes to fill black hole in public finances in highly anticipated Budget on Wednesday
Athena Stavrou,Kate DevlinTuesday 25 November 2025 10:17 GMTComments
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Rachel Reeves has been accused of planning to launch a tax raid on savers, amid reports she is set to cut the tax-free cash ISA limit.
The Chancellor is due to deliver her second budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday, in which she is widely expected to pull the lever on tax hikes in order to fill a £22bn black hole in the public finances.
Sources familiar with Budget preparations told the Financial Times that Reeves will cut the annual cash ISA limit from £20,000 to £12,000 in order to push more households to invest their savings into the UK stock market.
Opposition leaders have been quick to criticise the plans, with Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride saying: “Hardworking savers shouldn't be facing a tax raid to fund Labour's addiction to ever more welfare spending.”
On Monday, it also emerged that the chancellor is set to hit thousands of Britain’s most expensive properties with a new “mansion tax” levy.
It is one of a series of wealth taxes Ms Reeves is set to unveil, with other measures expected to include a profits tax on gambling companies and a levy on bank profits.
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Key Points
- Rachel Reeves set to slash tax-free ISA limit in blow to savers
- When is the Budget?
- Reeves calls for Labour unity ahead of eve of tax-raising Budget
- Chancellor ditches mention of economic growth in speech after dire Budget forecasts
- Reeves set to hit thousands of properties with new mansion tax
What is happening today
It is the final day before the Budget, so Westminster is rife with rumour and speculation.
In the chamber however, it is business as usual.
At 11:30am, Wes Streeting will face health questions in the Commons.
Then anytime from 12:30pm, Sir Keir Starmer will make a statement to the Commons about the G20.
He will later speak with Ukraine’s European allies following the latest talks to secure peace in the war-torn nation.
Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 10:17Rachel Reeves 'right' about misogyny in politics, says Cleverly
Rachel Reeves 'right' about misogyny in politics, says CleverlyAthena Stavrou25 November 2025 10:04Reeves’ speech - and her Budget - reveals how much she is at the mercy of her backbenchers
The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
The chancellor has tried to rally Labour MPs behind her Budget in the few hours left before she finally unveils it.
She tried to woo them by insisting it would be “progressive” and talking up support for the NHS.
But she also urged them to get behind it because “politics is a team sport”.Experts warn a backbench rebellion that scuppered £5bn worth of planned welfare cuts earlier this year has added to Ms Reeves’ woes in this Budget, leaving her forced to find billions of pounds extra.
Her speech also shows just how crucial it is for the chancellor to get the backing of Labour MPs for what is set to be a make-or-break Budget, despite the party’s massive majority in the House of Commons.
(Getty Images)Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 09:43Scottish Labour leader warns Budget a moment to 'restore confidence'
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called the Budget “a moment to restore confidence and put this Labour government back on track”.
Writing in The Independent, he said: “Ultimately both voters and businesses will have benefitted from decisions this UK Labour government has made.
“The tragedy is the failure to project confidence and communicate those changes have left them feeling uncertain. But if we do not act to increase business confidence, then we will be stuck in the doom loop of speculation, timidity and short-termism that holds our economy back.”
Anas Sarwar (PA Wire)Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 09:31Milkshakes and lattes expected to be hit by Government sugar tax
Pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes are expected to be hit by the sugar tax in an announcement from the Health Secretary.
Wes Streeting is expected to tell the Commons on Tuesday that the Government will end the exemption for milk-based drinks from the existing tax on sugary drinks.
The move will affect packaged milkshakes and coffees, but not drinks made in cafes and restaurants.
It follows a Government consultation on the issue looking at removing the exemption for milk-based drinks while introducing a “lactose allowance” to account for the natural sugars in the milk component of the drinks.
Ministers have also been looking at removing the exemption for milk substitute drinks with “added sugars” beyond those sugars derived from the principal ingredient, such as oats or rice.
(Getty/iStock)Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 09:16Editorial: Reeves must prove she has a rock-solid plan to free us from this ‘growth crisis’
The chancellor’s second Budget has been overshadowed by bleak forecasts, but while the OBR’s downgrade exposes the fragility of Labour’s economic promises and the limits of government spin, she must still deliver.
Read our full editorial here:
Reeves must prove she has a rock-solid plan to free us from this ‘growth crisis’
Editorial: The chancellor’s second Budget has been overshadowed by bleak forecasts, but while the OBR’s downgrade exposes the fragility of Labour’s economic promises and the limits of government spin, she must still deliverAthena Stavrou25 November 2025 09:06Rachel Reeves set to slash tax-free ISA limit in blow to savers
Rachel Reeves is set to cut the annual cash ISA limit from £20,000 to £12,000 in her make-or-break Budget, in what could be seen as a blow to hard-working savers.
The chancellor is hoping to push more households to invest their savings into the UK stock market, as she scrambles to fill her £22bn fiscal black hole.
Sources familiar with Wednesday’s Budget preparations told the Financial Times that Reeves had initially planned to reduce the limit to a £10,000 cap, but raised the figure after months of fierce debate.
(PA Archive)A cross-party Treasury select committee report from last month estimated British households have a total of £360 billion tied up in cash ISAs, with many opting for the tax-free accounts over riskier investments in stocks and shares.
Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, money put into stocks and shares ISAs decreased by 9 per cent, while injections into cash ISAs more than doubled.
The chancellor is said to have considered a number of proposals to overhaul the ISA system, including a a ‘Brit ISA’ that would have required a minimum allocation of 20 per cent into UK equities. However, she is said to have dropped the plan following backlash from ISA providers.
Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 08:52Reeves 'relishes' challenge of her job, says minister
Reeves 'relishes' challenge of her job, says ministerAthena Stavrou25 November 2025 08:49When is the Budget?
Rachel Reeves will deliver her highly anticipated Budget this week.
The chancellor will make her statement in the Commons on Wednesday 26 November.
She will begin after PMQs, which usually finishes at around 12:30pm.
(via REUTERS)Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 08:34People 'starting to feel' improvement of NHS, minister claims
A health minister said strikes “knock some of that improvement off course” but in the NHS “green shoots are there”, as she was questioned about the prospect of increased health service funding paid for through tax rises.
Asked whether a potential boost to the NHS in the Budget would merely be spent on striking residential doctors, Karin Smyth told Sky News: “The Chancellor protected the NHS and our public services in the last budget and that, as you’ve outlined, does involve those hard choices, but it is yielding results.
“Those waiting lists are coming down by over 200,000, we had more GPs put into post, access is improving. It’s got a long way to go.
“We understand that. It is really difficult. The strikes are really difficult. They do knock some of that improvement off course, but those green shoots are there.
“And I think people are starting to feel that, and staff are starting to feel that.”
(PA Wire)Athena Stavrou25 November 2025 08:20Newer1 / 5OlderMore about
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