Reeves Faces Cabinet Unease Over £40 Billion Hunt for Budget
- Chancellor wants tax hikes, savings to create buffer in budget
- Ministers warn spending cuts not possible, people familiar say
Rachel Reeves
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves faces growing Cabinet disquiet over the scale of spending cuts she wants to help raise £40 billion ($52.3 billion) to put Britain’s public finances on a stable footing.
Reeves, who has said the new Labour government inherited a £22 billion fiscal hole from the Conservatives, is determined to use her Oct. 30 budget to give herself a buffer against her target of ensuring day-to-day spending is covered by tax revenues, according to two people familiar with the matter. That means the chancellor is looking at decisions on tax, spending and welfare savings to raise about £40 billion, the people said on condition of anonymity.