Labour set out £40bn tax hikes in first Budget

The Labour government’s first budget certainly had an element of shock and awe, with the sheer scale of the numbers.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs that putting up taxes by £40 billion was the only responsible choice to restore stability to the country’s finances.

While in his swansong as leader of the opposition, Rishi Sunak accused Labour of breaking election promises on tax and fiddling the fiscal rules to borrow more.