Budget live: Reeves to pledge more ‘pounds in people’s pockets’ in budget reveal

In what is expected to be a Budget of record-breaking tax rises involving “tough choices” to “fix public services”, Ms Reeves will hold out some hope with a rallying cry that she intends to “invest, invest, invest” to turn the country around.

The rhetoric appears to deliberately echo Tony Blair’s three priorities of “education, education, education” ahead of the 1997 election as Ms Reeves attempts to grasp the optimism of his New Labour government in what is widely expected to be a gloomy Budget.

The Independent’s Political Editor David Maddox reports:

Small business owners are “seriously concerned” by the possibility of tax rises in the Budget on Wednesday.

Some fear they will need to cut their employee headcount, including paraplanning business owner Steve Luke, 56.

“I’m seriously concerned that if the Budget is as bad as I’m expecting then we may have to reduce the workforce from nine to seven or eight,” he told PA.

Mr Luke says he is concerned the government will not view him as a “working person” in the Budget, as he takes a small salary from the business while also paying himself a dividend due to fluctuating income.

Farmer and landlord Richard Payne, 61, who owns around 500 acres of land and rents 150-200 acres for wheat, barley, oilseed rape and canola farming, says he is “extremely nervous”.

“Whilst I’m probably not going to be clobbered hard on national insurance contributions, because we don’t employ a huge number of people… I’m more worried about taxation on profit, if we make any, and also, in my case, losing agricultural property leave or business property relief on our assets,” he said.

Joy Francis, 76, the owner of two nurseries and employer of 22 people, fears the increase on employer’s national insurance contributions.

“(The Government) just doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of small businesses being the backbone of the economy and we’re not all money-grabbing people with shareholders to pay.”

Funding for Scotland must increase “immediately and significantly” in Wednesday’s budget, first minister John Swinney has said.

At a reception for business leaders on Tuesday, Mr Swinney said: “The Office for Budget Responsibility highlighted recently the potential for public investment to deliver permanent improvements in the economy.

“It is welcome that my calls for the Chancellor to amend her fiscal rules have been heard, with indications last week that there will be scope for greater investment.

“The Chancellor has the chance to choose to deliver a UK Budget that invests in our public services and supports the entrepreneurial spirit displayed in Scotland’s business sector.

“With these new rules in place, the Chancellor must use the fiscal headroom they create to deliver a Budget that immediately and significantly enhances Scotland’s resource and capital funding, enabling us to invest more in our public services and take forward the vital infrastructure projects that support economic growth, net zero, and action to tackle child poverty.”

The Scottish government recently made more than £500 million of in-year cuts, with Scotland’s finances in significant difficulty.

Mr Swinney has also called for an Acorn carbon capture and storage facility in the north east of Scotland to be funded after it was overlooked twice by successive UK governments.

Scottish first minister John Swinney has called on Rachel Reeves to use the Budget to scrap the two-child benefit limit, the Daily Record reports.

The Financial Times reports that UK borrowing costs have hit a post-election record.

The markets are readying themselves for a tax hit as new borrowing is expected to top £20 billion, the FT says.

Businesses leaders have warned the government that more taxes, higher wage bills and the overhaul on workers rights will create the “perfect storm”, The Times reports.

The Morning Star leads on Rachel Reeves’ “Horror Halloween Budget”, adding that the government “struggles to move on from its misery messaging”.

Ms Reeves warned that Wednesday’s budget won’t be enough to fix the NHS, the paper reports.

The Guardian’s front page leads with Rachel Reeves’ 6.7 per cent increase on the National Living Wage – otherwise known as the minimum wage.

The increase will see the hourly rate increase to £12.21, amounting to an extra £1,400 annually for those on the lowest income.

There’s no tax rise that can avoid everyone’s pockets, but with around 50 per cent of UK citizens considering themselves working-class, Labour has been pressed to clarify who falls under the party’s definition.

Read what Labour ministers have said here: