Chancellor Rachel Reeves will face a tidal wave of mass dissatisfaction from British voters if she goes back on Labour’s promise not to increase taxes for working people
Maths expert Rachel Reeves will face a tsunami of dissatisfied voters if she breaks Labour’s promise not to hike income tax, a new poll suggests. In their 2024 election manifesto Labour pledged not to increases taxes on working people.
However, the Chancellor has hinted heavily that the Government will be break their promises to the British people. A whopping two-thirds (66%) of the UK electorate say Reeves should resign if she raises income tax in the crunch budget, according to the City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll.
Shockingly, over a third of Labour voters (35%) agreed that Reeves should leave her job if the promise is broken. The findings come as reports suggest the Labour Government is preparing to raise income tax by 2p while cutting National Insurance for those earning under £50,000 at the same time.
The hikes mean earners on £75,000 per year would pay £495 more in tax while those on £125,000 per year would have to pay £1,754 extra, according to analysis from Quilter.
Bookmakers Coral are taking bets on when when Reeves will be replaced and who the next Chancellor will be. The odds for each are listed below.
What year will Rachel Reeves be replaced?
- 2025 – 7/4
- 2026 – 10/11
- 2027 – 9/1
- 2028 – 12/1
- 2029 or later – 12/1
Who will be the next Chancellor?
- Evens Pat McFadden
- 7/2 Torsten Bell
- 7/1 Darren Jones
- 10/1 Wes Streeting
- 14/1 Anneliese Dodds
- 20/1 David Lammy
- 20/1 Jonathan Reynolds
It comes as the embattled Chancellor has dismissed the idea of cutting the tax-free lump sum that millions of pension savers can withdraw from their retirement funds. Following weeks of speculation and reports of panicked withdrawals, Treasury officials are believed to have confirmed that the Chancellor will not reduce the 25% tax-free allowance in her Budget on November 26.
The current limit allows most savers to withdraw up to £268,275 from their pension without paying income tax once they reach 55. This follows allegations that Ms Reeves was contemplating lowering the allowance to as little as £100,000 in an attempt to fill a gap of up to £30 billion in public finances.
One Labour-affiliated think tank, the Fabian Society, had encouraged her to make the cut, while pensions minister Torsten Bell has previously suggested a cap as low as £40,000.
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