Sir Keir Starmer is set to face his final Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) opposite Kemi Badenoch ahead of Labour’s highly anticipated Budget next week.
It comes as inflation fell to 3.6 per cent in October, in a boost to Rachel Reeves.
The chancellor has vowed to cut the cost of living before she delivers her autumn Budget on 26 November. “It’s welcome that inflation has fallen... But I recognise that inflation, the cost of living, is still a big burden on families right across the country,” she noted.
“And that’s why in the Budget next week, I’ll be taking targeted action to bring down inflation to address the cost of living”, she added.
The PM and the chancellor have faced fierce scrutiny ahead of the Budget, with a raft of tax rises expected.
Ms Reeves has been urged to tax the rich; she is widely expected to raise taxes to fill a multibillion-pound gap in her spending plans, but is reported to have ruled out a manifesto-busting income tax hike.
Opposition politicians, think tanks and campaign groups have urged Ms Reeves to focus her plans on the wealthiest instead of pursuing broad-based tax rises.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said Ms Reeves’ statement “must be a cost-of-living Budget to slash people’s bills and make our country affordable again”.
In a letter to the Chancellor, Mr Polanski and other leading Greens called for a wealth tax along with changes to capital gains tax to bring it in line with income tax.
