Reeves aims to prepare voters and markets for possible budget tax rises

Speech attempts to take back narrative with talk of ‘years of economic mismanagement’, Brexit and tariffsReeves avoids ruling out tax rises as autumn budget loomsBusiness live – latest updatesThere were two audiences for Rachel Reeves’s hastily arranged early morning speech on Tuesday: the financial markets, and Labour’s disillusioned voters.As she made clear, though only obliquely, Keir Starmer’s government is considering abandoning its pre-election pledge not to raise income tax, backed into a corner by dire forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Continue reading...