After months of speculation – and one huge leak just an hour before – Rachel Reeves has finally delivered her Autumn Budget.
These are the best reactions to a Budget that has been labelled one of the most chaotic in recent history.
OBR disaster-class
With a £20bn financial black hole to fill, the chancellor confirmed £26bn in tax increases, which included a ‘mansion tax’, a new mileage tax on electric vehicles and taxes on private pension savings.
Reeves also announced a the two-child benefit cap would be scrapped, and the government’s fiscal headroom will expand to £22bn in five years’ time.
But, of course, thanks to the Office for Budget Responsibility accidentally publishing their forecast report before Reeves spoke to the Commons, we already knew this.
Safe to say, the government forecaster was the subject of mockery online…
One political journalist said the OBR blunder helped make this “the most chaotic Budget I’ve ever witnessed,” whilst Sky’s Beth Rigby said it was “astonishing.”
There’s no denying this Budget will go down in memory for the OBR leak, and some have already coined it the ‘OBRishambles.’
Tory rowdiness
The chaos of the hour before – combined with the weeks of leaks and speculation in the media – meant it was one of the rowdiest Budget’s ever seen.
Deputy speaker Nus Ghani had to intervene on several occasions to call for quiet, particularly from the Tory benches, with those in blue being criticised for their behaviour…
There was praise for the deputy speaker as well, who had no issue “naming and shaming” those shouting during Reeves’ speech.
Zack Polanski gets a shout-out – and hits back
In a real sign of just how much Zack Polanski has managed to propel the Green Party into the mainstream, Reeves took aim at Polanski during her speech.
The chancellor said the “only thing getting bigger under his policies would be the deficit and inflation”, in a reference to a story about Polanski’s previous career as a hypnotherapist.
In response, Polanski hit back on X: “A few things are getting bigger Chancellor: Green Party membership, Green Party polling, and Labours increased desperate attacks. If you agree we should be bringing bills down and taxing the super wealthy more.”
Seatless Streeting
And spare a thought for Wes Streeting. Budget day is a busy one in the Commons, and even a frontbencher like him can be left on the sidelines if he doesn’t grab a seat in time.