'It's spend now ... tax later review' in a do or die bid for growth

BRITONS face painful autumn tax rises after Rachel Reeves was accused of a “fantasy” £300 billion spending spree, critics claimed last night.

- By Martyn Brown Political Editor

The Chancellor splashed the cash in a do-or-die bid to drive growth and revive her shaky economic record.

She used her eagerly awaited Spending Review to pour billions more into defence, the NHS and green energy.

But she did not set out how she will pay for the largesse, raising the prospect of more tax hikes at the next Budget.

Cruel

Economists have warned the Chancellor must find £23bn to plug the gap.

Senior Tory Sir Mel Stride warned: “This is the spend now, tax later review, because the Chancellor knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes, and a cruel summer of speculation awaits.”

Addressing MPs in the Commons, the Chancellor claimed her spending plans would “deliver the priorities of the British people”.

She pledged hundreds of millions to tackle illegal migration and vowed to end the use of expensive asylum hotels - that are costing taxpayers £4m a day before the next election. But it risks infuriating voters who want to see action to stop using them now rather than in four years’ time.