The countdown to the Budget is now in its final days, and Westminster is on edge. Households, businesses, and politicians alike are watching closely to see how Chancellor Rachel Reeves will navigate a complex web of economic pressures, international tensions, and domestic expectations. She is reportedly preparing a Budget aimed at stabilising the economy, easing the cost of living, and delivering on Labour’s promises, all without unsettling businesses still reeling from last year’s £25 billion National Insurance rise and inflation-busting minimum wage increase.
Reeves set out her approach in the Sunday Times, stressing that controlling inflation is the foundation for achieving her government’s key pledges. Acknowledging public impatience, she admitted she shares the frustration felt by families and businesses alike. She argued that only by stabilising the economy can the government deliver meaningful improvements to healthcare, tackle debt pressures, and help households feel the benefit of change.
Early measures are said to include freezing rail fares, capping prescription costs, and expanding free breakfast clubs, alongside wider reforms to welfare, asylum policy, and quango oversight. The Chancellor reportedly believes that these steps, combined with targeted reforms, are essential to easing financial pressures while setting the stage for longer-term economic stability.
Yet nervousness lingers in boardrooms, where confidence remains fragile after last year’s economic shocks. Analysts suggest the Budget is widely expected to include targeted tax changes rather than sweeping reforms, with measures apparently under consideration including business rates reform, tweaks to windfall taxes on oil and gas, and a cap on salary sacrifice schemes.
Business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry are said to be pressing the government to focus on a few decisive moves rather than a series of smaller, disruptive tweaks, highlighting the delicate balancing act the Chancellor faces between stability and reform.
Energy and infrastructure policy is also under scrutiny. A recent review, commissioned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, warned that the UK is the most expensive country in the world to build nuclear power, citing fragmented regulation and overly conservative safety rules. The Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce called for a “radical reset,” including a “one-stop shop” for approvals, which is said to have the potential to save tens of billions in costs and reverse years of decline. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the proposals as the start of a “golden age of new nuclear,” aimed at boosting energy security while supporting the country’s net zero ambitions.
International pressures are mounting alongside domestic challenges. European leaders are meeting in Switzerland to revise the US-backed 28-point Ukraine peace plan, criticised for favouring Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the main issue is that it could force Kyiv to cede territory, while Russia is said to have yet to see the updates. Over the weekend, US-Ukraine talks continued, with President Donald Trump commenting, “something good just may be happening, but don’t believe it until you see it.”
Meanwhile, back at home, Reeves is also facing scrutiny, with Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch criticising her for freezing income tax thresholds, claiming the move breaches Labour’s manifesto commitments.
As the Budget approaches, Reeves faces a high-stake balancing act: reassuring households and businesses, maintaining fiscal discipline, signalling pro-growth policies, and navigating a tense domestic and international backdrop. Early indications suggest the Chancellor may offer modest relief rather than headline-grabbing tax rises, but with pressure mounting from all sides, the coming days are likely to test both strategy and patience.
Headlines
- Starmer must go if Budget hits working classes, says union boss - The Telegraph
- Rachel Reeves to hit 100,000 properties with mansion tax to balance books - The Times
- US and Ukraine report progress in talks on peace plan – The Financial Times
What’s on in Parliament
Monday 24th November
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Legislation: English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Programme (No.2)
- Westminster Hall debate: e-petition 700682 relating to humanitarian obligations and Gaza
House of Lords
- Oral questions: Decision of police forces to stop recording non-crime hate incidents, and decisions to abolish them altogether
- Oral questions: Funding the increased numbers of children attending state-funded schools as a result of the decrease in the numbers attending private schools
- Statement: The war in Ukraine and the forcible removal of children to Russia
Tuesday 25th November
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Health and Social Care
- Ten Minute Rule Motion, Dr Andrew Murrison MP
- Westminster Hall Debate: The potential impact of immigration reforms on humanitarian visa routes
- Westminster Hall Debate: Tackling violence against women and girls in London
House of Lords
- Oral questions: Democratic resilience in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Oral questions: Further devolution in Wales
- Legislation: Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill - committee stage (day 2)
Wednesday 26th November
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Scotland
- Prime Minister's Question Time
- Financial Statement: Budget Statement at the end of the Chancellor’s Statement, the first Budget Resolution will be moved and debate on the Budget Resolutions will take place
House of Lords
- Oral questions: Ensuring charities cannot use 'the advancement of religion' charitable purpose to advance ideologies which promote misogyny, sexism or violence against women
- Oral questions: Potential impact on economic growth of trends in the number of visas granted to highly skilled people
Thursday 27th November
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Culture, Media and Sport
- Business Statement: Business Questions to the Leader of the House
- Financial Statement: Continuation of the budget debate
- Westminster Hall debate: The impact of extended producer responsibility for packaging
House of Lords
- Oral questions: effect of the Budget on small and medium-sized businesses
- Oral questions: Reducing the prevalence of violence against women and girls in line with the Labour Party Manifesto 2024 commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade
Friday 28th November
The House of Commons and The House of Lords are not sitting, and will next sit on 1st December.
Consultations
- Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales: Fit for the Future – closes 2nd January
- Earned settlement – closes 12th February
Statistics
- Bird flu (avian influenza): cases in wild birds – updated 24th November
- Banana prices – updated 24th November
- Planning Inspectorate Ministerial Measures – published 20th November