The Government has promised not to raise the headline rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT, nor to raise taxes on “working people”. It has also said it would maintain the triple lock for the state pension.
However, this means other taxes are expected to go up, while the pledge on the triple lock does not cover other benefits, hence last week’s decision to axe winter fuel payments for those who do not receive pension credit.
The cut to benefits came as Ms Reeves revealed what she said is a £22bn black hole in the public finances left by the previous government, an analysis which was disputed by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
In a separate discussion she also raised the prospect of changing the fiscal rules, the self-imposed borrowing targets which determine how much so-called “headroom” the Government has to raise spending or cut taxes without incurring too much debt in the years to come.
Possibilities thought to be under consideration include changes to the way losses under the Bank of England’s £895bn quantitative easing scheme are counted, or tweaks to the accounting around student loans.
Ms Reeves told the Financial Times: “We’ll publish the precise details of the fiscal rules in the Budget.”
The Labour Party campaigned on a promise of fiscal prudence.
“Labour will turn the page on this economic chaos,” read its manifesto.
“Our approach is based on strong fiscal rules which will govern every single decision we make in government.”
However, the precise details of those rules were not spelled out.
The rules and the framework around them have been changed repeatedly in recent decades, from Gordon Brown’s golden rule to George Osborne’s introduction of the Office for Budget Responsibility which monitors the Government’s adherence to the targets.