Politics LIVE: Rachel Reeves refuses to rule out more tax rises | Politics | News
The decade continues to look “really challenging” for living standards as much of the “pain” from Rachel Reeves’ budget will not be felt until 2028, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank said.
Ruth Curtice told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “In something like financial overhaul, it has greatly increased the headroom, but it has postponed the pain. So the borrowing actually goes up every year until 29-30. Very interestingly, it postpones the pain until just before the election.”
Ms Curtice continued: “These threshold freezes will begin in 2028. Some other measures (for example, the mansion tax and wage sacrifice) will also not be introduced until 2028, meaning most of the pain of this Budget will be felt then.”
He also said: “This Parliament will be second only to the last parliament in terms of (living) standards… This decade continues to look very challenging indeed.”
Unemployment was higher than forecast in March, “so it’s a particularly difficult outlook for some people who are struggling in the job market.”
Spending on pensioners, health and disability benefits has risen more than expected but “we didn’t hear much yesterday about how they might take action in the future,” the head of the welfare think tank said.
