Economy ‘not working well enough’, admits Chancellor as she sets date for autumn Budget

RACHEL Reeves has acknowledged the economy is “not working well enough” and promised a “tight grip” on spending in her autumn Budget, which she will deliver on November 26.

- SOPHIE WINGATE and HELEN CORBETT

The Chancellor set the date for her highly anticipated Budget amid rampant speculation about tax rises and market jitters over the UK's public finances.

Ms Reeves yesterday said she had asked the fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to prepare an independent forecast on the late-November date to accompany the Budget.

The Chancellor said she will prioritise curbing inflation and borrowing costs, keeping public spending under control by meeting her fiscal rules, and kick-starting economic growth.

She is widely expected to have to hike taxes to balance the books, with the relatively late Budget date giving her time to lay the groundwork for potential changes.

Concerns over the public finances helped push UK long-term borrowing costs to 27-year highs ahead of the Budget date announcement.

Ms Reeves is expected to have to plug a black hole in the nation’s finances estimated by some to be as much as £51bn.