Chancellor hails 6.7% minimum wage rise

The UK's national minimum wage is to rise by a higher than expected 6.7% next year, Rachel Reeves announced before today's multibillion-pound tax-raising budget designed to act as the springboard for a decade of national renewal.

- Larry Elliott and Pippa Crerar

Insisting that the increase to £12.21 in the pay floor marks a significant step in Labour's plan to deliver for the low paid, the chancellor will also say she can spare working people from the tax increases intended to plug the hole in the public finances and avoid a fresh wave of public spending cuts.

Instead employers' national insurance contributions will be the main source of revenue - a decision Reeves will argue sticks to Labour's manifesto pledges.

After months of gloomy warnings about the economy, the chancellor is expected to give an upbeat vision as she seeks to use the budget to draw a line under 14 years of Conservative rule and lay the foundations for a faster-growing economy.

Despite a fresh warning that it will take time to fix the mess left by the Tories amid fears among Labour MPs that the public expects dramatic change, Reeves will say: "My belief in Britain burns brighter than ever. And the prize on offer to today is immense.

"More pounds in people's pockets. An NHS that is there when you need it. An economy that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all. Because that is the only way to improve living standards."

In what is expected to be the biggest tax-raising budget in history, Reeves will say the extra revenue is needed to plug the hole in the public finances inherited from the Conservatives and to avoid fresh austerity.