Overview
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the budget shortly after the fiscal watchdog accidentally posted its full forecast online, with the OBR calling the early release a technical error and documents pointing to about £26 billion in revenue by 2029–30.
- Income‑tax thresholds are extended in their freeze through 2031, a move the OBR says will raise roughly £8.3 billion a year and push about 1.6 million people into higher tax bands.
- New revenue measures focus on wealth and assets, including a levy on homes valued above £2 million, changes to capital taxation, higher gambling duties, an electric‑vehicle use charge, and reduced tax‑free pension allowances.
- Targeted support includes abolishing the two‑child benefit cap from April, freezing rail fares, cutting average household energy bills by about £150, and increasing both the minimum wage and state pensions.
- The package follows weeks of mixed signals and has high political stakes, drawing attacks from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and feeding speculation about pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer.