Rachel Reeves' next budget date revealed as chancellor refuses to rule out further tax rises
Reeves' spring statement will take place on March 3, 2026.
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Rachel Reeves’ spring budget will be unveiled in March, the Treasury has confirmed. The Chancellor will deliver her "spring forecast" on 3 March 2026, it has been announced.The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the independent fiscal watchdog, has also been asked to "prepare an economic and fiscal forecast" for publication that day.It follows last month’s autumn Budget – which has come under intense scrutiny after the Chancellor hiked up taxes by £26 billionThe Government has vowed to deliver just one fiscal event a year.While Ms Reeves has said it would be "wrong to start writing future budgets", she has also refused to rule out tax rises in the new year.However, the Treasury insists the spring forecast will "not make an assessment of the government's performance against the fiscal mandate and will instead provide an interim update on the economy and public finances".Read more: ‘Little Christmas cheer’ for Reeves as borrowing figures higher than forecastRead more: There were too many Budget leaks, says Rachel ReevesBut last spring, Ms Reeves imposed a series of controversial welfare cuts that sparked a Labour civil war.She also announced a reduction in civil servants and an increase in the UK's defence spending.Laying out her plans for the growth of the UK economy, Ms Reeves said at the time: "This Labour government was elected to bring change to our country. I am proud of what we have delivered in just nine months."Now our task is to secure Britain's future in a world that is changing before our eyes. The job of a responsible government is to not step back but step up."This year’s spring statement comes as the UK’s tax burden is now at its highest since the Second World War following the autumn budget.Ms Reeves told The i Paper she increased the nation's "fiscal headroom" with her measures so that the UK is "better able to withstand those sorts of shocks", which she hopes will reduce the need for further tax changes.Her tax hikes sparked backlash, with many accusing her and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of breaking their manifesto promises not to increase income tax, NI or VAT on working people.Meanwhile, Ms Reeves has been offered “very little Christmas cheer” after official figures showed higher-than-forecast government borrowing for November.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing stood at £11.7 billion last month, £1.9 billion less than in November last year and the lowest November level for four years thanks to a sharp fall in debt interest payments.But the figure was more than the £10 billion expected by most economists and the £8.6 billion forecast in March by the OBR.The OBR’s monthly forecasts from the Budget on November 26 are not available until mid-January, according to the ONS.Borrowing for the eight months of the financial year so far was higher than expected, at £132.3 billion – £10 billion more than the same period a year ago and £16.8 billion above the OBR forecast in March.Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said there was “very little Christmas cheer for the Chancellor” in the latest figures.He added that the Chancellor’s “fiscal plans rest on shaky foundations”, with the data showing that Britain’s public finances “remain weak” despite a lower outturn for November.
