Reeves rules out snap budget if Labour wins election

UK Labour Party shadow finance minister Rachel Reeves said there would be no emergency budget statement this summer if her party won the general election on July 4 and also ruled out further tax rises beyond what had been outlined already.

Speaking after her first major speech of the campaign, Reeves said the Office for Budget Responsibility, which produces official forecasts, needed 10 weeks to assess the implications of any post-election policy decisions ahead of a budget.

“I’ve been really clear that I would not deliver a fiscal event without an OBR forecast," she said, adding that Labour’s election campaign would not include any unexpected taxes or measures. The party said it would not increase income tax, national insurance, corporation tax or any form of wealth tax.

It plans to fund its pledges with measures including a windfall tax on oil and gas firms, adding sales tax to private school fees, taxing private equity bonuses, and a further tightening of the non-domicile tax system.

Reeves, who has also ruled out a return to austerity, faces a challenge if she becomes finance minister given the state of the public finances and the fact that current finance minister Jeremy Hunt has already pencilled in sharp cuts to public spending in the next four years - effectively more austerity.

Labour has said it will stick to Hunt's plans, meaning in reality higher taxes, more borrowing or cuts to departmental spending.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com