Politics LIVE: Reform councils to raise tax for 2m households in £127m worth of hikes despite cuts promise

Watch the moment Christopher Hope jokingly asks Rachel Reeves: 'Is it time to cancel our Christmas turkey?'

Labour closes gap on Reform UK as Conservatives level with Greens in damning new poll

Labour has closed the gap on Reform UK to just seven points as the Tories continue to slump, according to new polling.

The YouGov poll has Nigel Farage's party retaining a lead on 27 per cent, with Labour gaining three points to move to 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives are down to 16 per cent, level with Zack Polanski's Green Party, both one point ahead of the Liberal Democrats on 15 per cent.

WATCH IN FULL: Rachel Reeves delivers pre-Budget speech - 'We will get debt under control!'

Lib Dems say Labour refuses to tackle 'elephant in the room' in call for 'better deal with the EU'

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper has demanded Labour to address the "elephant in the room" in the upcoming budget.

Reacting to this morning's speech from the Chancellor, the party's Treasury Spokeswoman said: "It's clear that this budget will be a bitter pill to swallow, as the Government seems to have run out of excuses.

"The Government can't keep punishing households, high streets and hospices while big banks, gambling companies and social media giants don't pay their fair share.

"If Rachel Reeves really wants to unleash growth for British businesses, she needs to get a better deal with the EU. It's the elephant in the room she refuses to face."

Kemi Badenoch says message Labour is sending 'couldn't be clearer'

The Conservative leader said: "The message that this Government is sending couldn't be clearer.

"Don't bother doing the right thing. Don't bother living within your means because the Government won't. Don't bother putting money away to cover your bills. You'll just end up paying for those that don't."

Kemi Badenoch says Labour has 'given up' on young people not in employment, in education or training

Kemi Badenoch said: "Each young person not in employment, in education or training, is costing the economy nearly £200,000. There are now a million of them... a million young people not in education, not in training, not working.

“Labour might have given up, but we haven’t.

"We will get them working, and we’ll give them a £5000 first jobs bonus.”

Kemi Badenoch said the Conservatives will get people 'off welfare and into work'

Kemi Badenoch said the Conservatives are going to "get people off welfare and into work."

The Tory leader said: "What's happening right now with our welfare system is not just an economic scandal, it's a moral one."

Chancellor's speech slammed as 'wafflebomb' by Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch took aim at Rachel Reeves as she accused the Chancellor's speech as being "wafflebomb."

The Tory leader said: "The Chancellor’s speech was one long wafflebomb. A laundry list of excuses. She blamed absolutely everybody else for her own choices, her own decisions, her own failures.

"She claims she will focus on the priorities of the British public. Whose priority is it to pay more tax? It is basic economics that if you tax something, you get less of it."

Kemi Badenoch: 'It doesn't have to be like this'

Kemi Badenoch said "it doesn't have to be like this" as she launched a scathing attack on the Chancellor.

The Conservative leader says Rachel Reeves "blamed absolutely everybody else for her own choices, her own decisions, her own failures.

"She claims she will focus on the priorities of the British public. Whose priority is it to pay more tax? It is basic economics that if you tax something, you get less of it."

WATCH: Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately MP slams the Chancellor's pre-Budget speech

Zack Polanski takes fight to Reform UK as Green Party lurches into second in poll

Zack Polanski has pledged to take the electoral fight to Reform UK as he lamented his party's lack of appearances in national media, prior to his landslide leadership election victory.

It comes after a Find Out Now survey showed the Greens surging ahead of Labour and the Conservatives, but behind Nigel Farage's party.

The Green Party Leader told Politico: "I don't want everyone to agree with what I or the Green Party is saying. What I do want everyone to know is, I'll always say what I mean.

"We were reaching a ceiling of where you could get to by [the] ground game alone...what maybe was holding us back was not being heard in the national media."

Mr Polanski says he wants to "make sure that the media have an easy access point" to the party.

Think tank warms of 'severe and long-term damage to the economy' 

A think tank has warned of "severe and long-term damage to the economy" after a speech today by the Chancellor.

Chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance John O’Connell said: "Taxpayers will feel like the wind has been taken out of them after a gut punch of a speech by the Chancellor, who has effectively confirmed reports of significant tax rises.

"Rachel Reeves said in her speech that her choices at the upcoming budget will shape the country for years to come, and there’s now little doubt that just like her first budget it will do severe and long-term damage to the economy, to household budgets and to trust in politicians.

"It’s still not too late for the chancellor to abandon plans to increase taxes and instead focus her fiscal policy on bringing down the spiralling cost of government."

Zia Yusuf says Reform UK will 'prioritise citizens of the United Kingdom'

Reacting to the press conference held by Rachel Reeves, Reform UK's head of policy Zia Yusuf told GB News: "Here's the first difference, prioritise citizens of the United Kingdom."

He said Reform would pledge to find "tens of millions" in savings.

Rachel Reeves refuses to take question from GB News 

What a shame that Chancellor Rachel Reeves refused to take a question from me for @GBNEWS at her breakfast press conference today. pic.twitter.com/G1YAyshddy

— Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) November 4, 2025

Senior Tory says Rachel Reeves blames 'anyone but herself'

Helen Whately as told GB News Rachel Reeves "blames anyone but herself for the situation the economy is in."

The Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions said: "It's their fault and she should take responsibility...She talked again about making savings from welfare but she is at odds with her own Secretary of State for Welfare."

Rachel Reeves said she would act in 'political expediency' over 'national interest' 

Rachel Reeves said she would do "the right things" as she pledged to act in "political expediency" over "national interest."

Asked by The Telegraph if she was prepared to lose the next election as a result of breaking manifesto promises by raising tax, she said: "The problem of the last 14 years is that political expediency always came above the national interest, and that is why we are in the mess that we are in today.”

She added: "If you’re asking me, what comes first, national interest or political expediency, national interest every single time. And that’s the same for Keir Starmer too."

Rachel Reeves refuses to confirm if she will break Labour's manifesto commitments at her budget

Rachel Reeves has declined to say if Labour will break a manifesto commitment to not raise income tax, VAT or national insurance on "working people."

She said: "As Chancellor I have to face the world as it is, not the world as I want it to be. And when challenges come our way, the only question is how to respond to them, not whether to respond or not.

"As I respond at the budget on the 26th of November, my focus will be on getting NHS waiting lists down, getting the cost of living down and also getting the national debt down."

Rachel Reeves said she wanted to 'strike a careful balance' at last year's Budget

Rachel Reeves has said she wanted to "strike a careful balance" at last year's Budget as she reiterated her comittment to fiscal rules.

She said: "That was the right decision to break the cycle of low productivity and low growth...But that additional investment can only be delivered because markets know my commitment to the fiscal rules is ironclad."

The Chancellor also played down the suggestion she should "sidestep those rules" and borrow more money "without consequence" by reclassifying areas like defence and education.

"But no accounting trick can change the basic fact that government debt is sold on financial markets."

Rachel Reeves says 'global challenges' has hit Britain's economy

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said despite the UK’s “considerable economic strengths” it had been hit by a series of global challenges and persistent problems with productivity.

In a speech setting out the challenges she will face in her Budget later this month, she said "the world has thrown even more challenges our way" in the last 12 months.

"The continual threat of tariffs has dragged on global confidence, deterring business investment and dampening growth," she told reporters in Downing Street.

"Inflation has been too slow to come down, as supply chains continue to be volatile, meaning the costs of everyday essentials remain too high.

"The cost of government borrowing has increased around the world, a shift that Britain, with our high levels of debt left by the previous government, has been particularly exposed to."

Rachel Reeves says Reform UK 'cannot find a single penny' in their councils

Rachel Reeves has suggested Reform UK-led councils "can't find a single penny" as she accused Nigel Farage's party of pushing up council tax.

Rachel Reeves suggests Labour will press ahead with welfare reforms despite rebellion

Rachel Reeves has hinted Labour will push ahead with reforms to welfare, despite a mass backbench rebellion.

The Chancellor said: "The Prime Minister, the Secretary of Work and Pensions and this whole Government, are committed to reforming our welfare state.

"So that is not a system that counts the costs of failure, but one that invests in success and protects those who need it most.”

"There is nothing progressive about refusing to reform a system that is leaving one in eight young people out of education or employment.

"So we have begun the job of creating a system that protects people who cannot work and empowers those who can."

Rachel Reeves swipes at 'disastrous' Liz Truss

Rachel Reeves took a swipe at former Tory PM Liz Truss as she laid out a pledge to put public finances "back on a firm footing."

She said: "At the Budget last year, I fixed the foundations, dealing with the aftermath of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget and the £22billion black hole in the public finances left by the previous government.

"I put our public finances back on a firm footing, provided an urgent cash injection into our faltering public services and began rebuilding our economy."

Rachel Reeves says Labour will make 'important choices' to shape Britain 'for years to come'

The Chancellor said: "My Budget, led by this government style of fairness and opportunity and focused entirely on the priorities of the British people.

"Protecting our NHS, reducing our national debt, and improving the cost of living. There has been a lot speculation about the choices that I will make, I understand that.

"These are important choices that will shape the future of our country for years to come. I want people to understand the circumstances we are facing, the principles guiding my choices, and why I believe they will be the right choices."

Rachel Reeves slams 'years of economic mismanagement' as she lays out pre-Budget announcement

The Chancellor has arrived at the news conference room in Downing Street, launching an attack on "years of economic mismanagement."

Rachel Reeves plots tax hikes as Britons 'fear' Budget 2025 - full list of FIVE HMRC raids coming your way

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widely expected to break Labour's manifesto promise to not raise income tax in the upcoming Autumn Budget, with a speech set to be delivered later this morning about the issue.

Anxiety about potential income tax increases has emerged as the primary concern ahead of the Budget, with 16 per cent of the public identifying it as their biggest worry, according to a Hargreaves Lansdown.

GB News City & Business Correspondent Patrick O’Donnell has done an in-depth dive into the full list of potential raids from HMRC coming your way,

READ PATRICK'S FULL ANALYSIS HERE.

Kelvin MacKenzie says Greens will beat Labour at next General Election

Kelvin MacKenzie has predicted Labour will fall behind to Zack Polanski's Green Party in a scathing review of Sir Keir Starmer's party ahead of the Chancellor's speech later today.

Writing for GB News members, the former Editor of The Sun said: "Mystic Mac forecasts that Labour and the Tories will be destroyed in a General Election. I expect Labour to fall back to around 12 per cent, giving them a handful of seats.

"The Greens would do better at 20 per cent, but the way our constituencies work, I doubt they would get 40 seats. That way, the Reform-Tory alliance (and probably Farage on his own) could do whatever he liked.

"I am hopeful that he would take the axe to our benefits bill upon winning the general election, although I am concerned that he is indicating he might change the two-cap policy."

GB NEWS MEMBERS CAN READ KELVIN'S ANALYSIS HERE.

WATCH: Christopher Hope previews Rachel Reeves' upcoming press conference

Pensioners warned of 'inevitable' tax hike as Rachel Reeves makes 'hard and serious' choice

Speculation is mounting that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may abandon Labour's election pledge not to raise income tax when she delivers her Budget on November 26.

Ms Reeves is preparing to outline what she will call a Budget of "fairness and opportunity" in a speech from Downing Street on Tuesday.

She is expected to promise to "make the choices necessary to deliver strong foundations for our economy" while focusing on three priorities: reducing national debt, easing cost-of-living pressures and protecting the NHS.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Kemi Badenoch to lay down gauntlet to Labour - 'Britain has stopped working'

Kemi Badenoch is expected to heighten her attacks over the U-turn in a speech on Tuesday, claiming "Britain has stopped working" and accusing Labour of having "given up" on lowering the benefits bill.

The Tory leader will also call on the Chancellor personally to "demand the Government withdraws the Employment Rights Bill altogether, before it becomes Labour's Unemployment Act".

Mrs Badenoch is expected to say later today: "Britain has stopped working, because it has stopped making sense to work. Far from solving this, Labour seem intent on making it worse."