NEXT TAX RAID WILL 'PICK THE POCKETS OF THE GRAFTERS

Tories accuse Reeves of planning blitz on hard-working middle classes in Budget

- By Martyn Brown

RACHEL Reeves was last night accused of trying to "pick the pockets" of middle class workers.

The Chancellor refused to rule out a punishing wealth tax raid in her autumn Budget. Senior Conservatives warned that she is plotting to clobber millions of workers to help clear up her economic mess.

Party leader Kemi Badenoch said “Britain doesn’t need more taxes”, while Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said hardworking people will pay the price for Labour's mistakes.

Their stark warnings come after ministers hinted that Ms Reeves is considering wealth taxes in her autumn Budget to fill a fiscal hole worth tens of billions.

Ms Reeves refused to rule it out during an interview, telling broadcasters: “We haven’t even set the date for the Budget yet, so please forgive me if I’m not going to speculate about what might happen at an event that we haven’t even decided a date on yet.”

But she said promises not to increase income tax, National Insurance and VAT remained in place, along with her “nonnegotiable” fiscal rules.