Rachel Reeves refuses to rule out future tax rises in response to GB News probing

Speaking in the House of Commons, Reeves outlined departmental budgets for day-to-day spending between 2026-29 and investment projects until 2030. The NHS budget will increase by three per cent annually over three years for running costs.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner secured £39 billion across 10 years for social housing in England, whilst police forces will see spending power rise by 2.3 per cent by 2029.

The Government also pledged to end hotel use for asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament.

GB News's Christopher Hope directly challenged the Chancellor on whether taxes would rise to fund the spending commitments.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Rachel Reeves announces plans for thousands of migrants after promising to END asylum hotels
• The Chancellor will leave your head spinning today. But don't be fooled — Nigel Nelson
• 'She's BANKRUPTING Britain!' Rachel Reeves blasted from all sides as dust settles on Spending Review

When asked to guarantee "yes or no, will taxes go up in your autumn budget?", Reeves responded: "Every penny of this is funded through the tax increases and the changes to the fiscal rules we set out last autumn."

She added: "We're not spending a penny more or less than in the envelope we set out last autumn."

When Christopher pressed further, asking "So you can't say if taxes will go up in autumn?", the Chancellor replied: "Taxes won't need to go up to pay for what is in this spending review, I'm not going to write four years worth of Budgets within the first year of this Government."

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride condemned the plans as a "spend-now, tax-later review", warning that Reeves would return in autumn with "yet more taxes". He accused the review of being "not worth the paper it's written on" and claimed Reeves had lost control.

Stride predicted a "cruel summer of speculation" following what he described as months of economic chaos.

Speaking after the Chancellor's announcement, he suggested that tax rises were inevitable to fund the government's spending commitments.

Economists have warned tax rises could be inevitable following the spending review announcement.

The Conservatives have consistently challenged Labour's ability to fund its spending plans without increasing the tax burden on households and businesses.

Financial experts have highlighted several potential tax targets amid speculation about future revenue-raising measures.

Pensions could face changes, with questions raised about the future of salary sacrifice schemes where employees exchange salary for direct pension contributions, saving both income tax and national insurance.

There has also been debate around potentially reinstating a pension lifetime allowance, though experts warn this would add complexity and undermine confidence in the system.

Investment taxes represent another possible target, with dividend tax already significantly squeezed through rate hikes in April 2022 and allowance cuts from £2,000 to just £500.

The top quarter of earners, those making £45,900 or more, pay more than three quarters of UK income tax and would likely bear the brunt of any changes to tax-efficient savings and investment allowances.