Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget clears first House of Commons hurdle

Rachel Reeves’ Budget, which she said volition “rebuild Britain”, has cleared its archetypal Commons hurdle.

MPs approved a bid of Budget resolutions connected Wednesday, which included an summation to employers’ nationalist security contributions, a caller taxation connected vapes, and a £22.6 cardinal boost to day-to-day NHS spending.

Other measures brought guardant successful the Budget see £11.8 cardinal successful compensation for the infected humor ungraded victims, imposing VAT connected backstage schoolhouse fees, and abolishing the non-dom taxation regime.

This Government has shown it is nary person of the farmer, the producers of our food, the guardians of our countryside

Wendy Morton

The Chancellor has faced disapproval for changes to inheritance taxation for farmers, with galore absorption MPs calling for the Government to reconsider this proposal.

Under the plans, inheritance taxation volition beryllium charged astatine 20% connected farms worthy much than £1 million, though Ms Reeves has said that successful immoderate cases the threshold could successful signifier beryllium astir £3 million.

On the last time of debate, Conservative erstwhile curate Andrew Murrison said helium supported measures to tackle onshore banking to debar inheritance tax, but “attacking household farms is not on”.

Conservative erstwhile curate Wendy Morton called connected the Government to “abolish what I and others would present word the household workplace tax”, adding: “My farmers are devastated, promises made to them person been breached with nary consultation, nary accidental to plan.

“This Government has shown it is nary person of the farmer, the producers of our food, the guardians of our countryside. From nutrient heroes during Covid, to being abandoned successful the cold.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds claimed that lone 500 farms volition beryllium impacted by the change.

He told MPs: “I bash deliberation connected a batch of the investigation – surely connected the Conservative Party’s investigation – what they forgot to bash is aggregate the interaction of the changes to those allowances connected cultivation spot relief, alongside the existing nil complaint set and the quality to transportation those allowances betwixt spouses successful each cases.

“So, actually, if you look astatine the number, the full fig crossed the UK of farms that would person been affected by this change, it’s lone 500, yes, it’s 500 for the 2026/27 fiscal year. And I deliberation that has been missed.”

He added that the disapproval of the measurement amounted to “a small spot of scaremongering” arsenic helium urged colleagues “to beryllium wide with radical astir what really the lawsuit is”.

Winding up the debate, shadiness treasury curate Richard Fuller said: “This is simply a Budget of choices, and the choices are Labour’s choices and theirs alone. The prime to summation taxes, their prime to summation debt, their prime to alteration the fiscal rules, and their prime to rip up committedness aft predetermination committedness aft predetermination promise.”

He added: “This Budget of breached promises sends a bid of wide messages. Don’t commencement your ain business, due to the fact that Labour volition taxation you.

“Don’t person a program to prosecute caller employees, due to the fact that Labour volition taxation you. Don’t instrumentality a hazard and expect to support a reward, due to the fact that Labour volition taxation you.

This Budget of breached promises sends a bid of wide messages. Don’t commencement your ain business, due to the fact that Labour volition taxation you

Richard Fuller

“Don’t put successful the acquisition of your children, due to the fact that Labour volition taxation you. And don’t, immoderate you do, workplace your onshore to turn British food, due to the fact that Labour volition grind you into that precise aforesaid crushed and taxation you too.

“Finally I accidental to the minister, the spot that has been breached successful this Budget volition not beryllium recovered. People volition ne'er hide what happens erstwhile Labour are fixed their chance, volition ne'er hide the harm done erstwhile Labour makes its choices, and volition ne'er hide that Labour’s archetypal fund was a Budget of breached promises.”

Treasury curate Tulip Siddiq said: “It’s not often I hold with (Mr Fuller), but helium said we had choices, and the information is, we did person choices. And conjecture what? We chose to act.

“In 10 years’ time, the state volition look backmost astatine this Budget arsenic a infinitesimal successful which we got Britain’s aboriginal back.

“This is the infinitesimal where, successful the future, the system would person grown due to the fact that we chose to prioritise a steadfast workforce. This is the clip when, successful the future, we volition person grounds levels of concern due to the fact that we prioritise fiscal work and economical responsibility.

“This is the clip erstwhile radical volition person much wealth successful their pockets due to the fact that we prioritise protecting hard-working people’s payslips. The merry-go-round of austerity and economical irresponsibility is over. We made a choice; we made a prime to rebuild Britain.”