Rachel Reeves ‘privately declares war on the rich’ as she reveals her mansion tax plan behind closed doors and urges MPs to ‘celebrate’ Budget

Rachel Reeves dropped heavier hints about the ‘mansion tax’ as she urged Labor MPs to celebrate a budget that hits the rich.

The Chancellor has spoken of a war against ‘the rich’ as ​​he persuades restive backbenchers ahead of his major financial statement next week.

Ms Reeves is preparing for a brutal new round of tax rises as she seeks to plug a hole in the public finances estimated to be worth up to £40bn.

After making a messy U-turn on plans to raise income tax last week, he is believed to be looking at a ‘Smorgasbord’ of smaller increases.

Alongside the ‘rich’, pensioners and savers are also thought to be in the crosshairs, fueling fears that the severe slowdown in the economy will worsen.

Keir Starmer refused to rule out extending the freeze on tax thresholds at this afternoon’s PMQs; This would cost ordinary workers hundreds of pounds a year.

But despite the looming raid, Ms Reeves is expected to spend £3bn a year on scrapping the two-child benefit cap to appease her party.

The Chancellor is said to have gathered loyal MPs for a reception at 11 Downing Street on Monday evening, where they enjoyed ‘hot white wine, cheese scones and pastries’.

according to I PaperMs Reeves effectively confirmed that the most expensive properties would face higher taxes.

It is unclear how the increase will be implemented, but one option thought to be on the table is doubling top rates of council tax.

This will affect more than a million families. This would mean an eye-popping increase from £3,800 to £7,600 per year for households in group G in England, and from £4,560 to £9,120 per year for those in group H.

Other possibilities include adding extra council tax bands or imposing a percentage tax on homes above a certain value; however, this will require new valuations to be carried out.

However, such measures would negatively impact London and the South East, where property prices are higher. Critics warned it would lead to a crisis for retirees on fixed incomes and families straining to buy their dream homes.

An MP who attended the reception told Ms Reeves’ i Paper: ‘She said she wanted us to talk loudly about graphs that would show the distribution of new tax increases falling heavily on the wealthiest households.’

At PMQs, a Labor MP challenged Sir Keir to pursue ‘social justice’ by soaking the rich.

He said the budget would be based on ‘Labor values’.

Ms. Reeves’ budgetary plight became even more apparent today as food prices began to rise again.

The Prime Minister welcomed figures showing that CPI inflation fell to 3.6 per cent last month from 3.8 per cent in September, the highest level in the last 20 months.

But that was only marginally worse than the 3.5 percent rate many analysts had cited. And that decline was largely due to last year’s big increase in energy costs being left out of the figures.

The annual rate of increase in food prices has increased from an alarming 4.5 percent to 4.9 percent, increasing the suffering of struggling families.

Inflation remains well above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target and the specter of ‘Stagflation’ lurks.

The economy has already ground to a virtual halt, with GDP growing by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter before reversing in September.

Reacting to inflation figures this morning, Ms Reeves was asked whether the Government’s mixed messages on tax were affecting the economy.

He told broadcasters: ‘Leaks are unacceptable.

‘But people only have to wait a week for me to deliver my Budget on Wednesday 26 November.

‘The budget’s priorities will be tackling the cost of living, reducing NHS waiting lists and reducing the national debt. ‘These are the priorities of the British people and they will be my priorities as we go into the budget next week.’

The sense of panic in Labor is growing, with doubts over Sir Keir’s future and the threat from the Greens and Reform mounting.

Panic grows in Labor as doubts over Sir Keir’s future and threats from the Greens and Reform mount

New Green Party leader Zack Polanski followed suit with many left-wing Labor MPs who called for a wealth tax as well as higher capital gains tax.

Some have claimed that the 1 per cent tax on wealth over £10 million would be increased to 2 per cent on wealth over £1 billion, which would raise £14.8 billion a year.

But experts at Tax Policy Associates argued such a tax would be ‘high risk’ and could raise much less growth while seriously damaging it.

Ms. Reeves had previously played down the idea, but lately she has been less heartened about the dismissal.