Rachel Reeves vows to ‘grip the cost of living’ – despite expectation of tax rises in budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to “grip the cost of living” in the budget next week.

Writing in The Mirror newspaper, she acknowledged that high prices “hit ordinary families most” and that the economy “feels stuck” for too many.

But at the same time, she is expected to raise taxes when she sets out economic policies on 26 November as she seeks to bridge a multibillion-pound gap in her spending plans.

“Delivering on our promise to make people better off is not possible if we don’t get a grip on inflation,” Ms Reeves wrote in The Sunday Times.

“It is a fundamental precursor to economic growth. It is essential to make families better off and for businesses to thrive.

“There is an urgent need to ease the pressure on households now. It will require direct action by this government to get inflation under control.”

She said reforms would change the welfare system from “trapping millions of people on benefits” to one “designed to help people succeed”.

It comes as the government announced that rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years.

The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.

And it will save commuters on more expensive routes more than £300 a year.

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Among the rumoured measures in the budget is an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds, which would see more people dragged into paying tax for the first time or shifted into a higher rate as their wages go up.

However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Ms Reeves should “have the balls” to admit that such a move would breach Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise taxes on working people.