Labour's first budget: big promises, but bigger questions remain

Rachel Reeves' £40bn tax hike has raised eyebrows and hopes alike. Zoë Grünewald unpacks what this budget means for voters and tells us about the new governing party

Today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled Labour’s first budget in almost 15 years, setting out the party's ambitious spending plans. If New Labour’s mantra was “education, education, education”, Reeves and Starmer’s Labour have focused firmly on “investment, investment, investment.” Central to this commitment is a £40 billion package of tax increases—ma…