energy taxes up, business rates up, first—time buyer stamp duty up, pensions tax up — they have fiddled the figures. a case of the new variant of mpox has been confirmed in the uk for the first time. spain declares three days of mourning after at least 70 people are killed in flash floods following a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. welcome back to westminster, where we've seen rachel reeves deliver her first budget as chancellor, labour's first budget in m years, and one that will have a huge impact on tax and spending, and therefore the lives of all of us here in britain. so what were the main measures? well, the headline figure,

is that taxes will rise by £40 billion. that was the announcement by rachel reeves. she said �*any chancellor�* would have done the same if they wanted to be �*responsible' and �*rebuild public services'. a big part of that will be an increase in national insurance contributions for employers, with the rate rising from 13.8% to 15%. employers will also start paying it at a lower level of earnings. the hike is expected to raise 25—billion pounds from businesses. the hike is expected to raise £25 billion from businesses. personal taxes remain the same — that is rates of income tax and national insurance paid by employees, plus vat. income tax band thresholds will be unfrozen, but not until 2028. there was a boost to public spending, an extra £22.6 billion for day—to—day spending on the nhs in england, plus extra money for schools — some £6.7 billion for the department for education.

the minimum wage will go up for over 21s, rising from £11.44 an hour to £12.21 an hour. and there was an announcement for home building, with the affordable homes budget being boosted by £500 million. 0n transport, confirmation of that rise in the cap on single bus fares, from £2 to £3, that's from this coming january. bad news if you're a smoker with a rise in tobacco duty, plus there'll be a new tax on vaping liquid, introduced from next year. better news if you like a pint, duty on draft alcohol will be reduced, which means a pint of beer is down by a penny. lots of other measures, which we'll chew over, during the next few hours. but first this report by iain watson. this budget has already booked its place in history. it's the first to be delivered by a female chancellor

of the exchequer, but it's likely to be memorable for other reasons too. labour promised change at the last election. the contents of rachel reeves�* red box has now defined what that looks like, and has provided a clear sense of the government�*s direction. i call the chancellor of the exchequer. she began her speech by trying to counter claims that the government was being too gloomy. my belief in britain burns brighter than ever and the prize on offer is immense. as my right honourable friend the prime minister said on monday, change must be felt. more pounds in people�*s pockets and 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 here. and the only way to drive economic

growth is to invest, invest, invest. that promise to invest means changing the rules on debt and borrowing, which critics say is risky. but the chancellor argues that this will pay for projects which will boost economic growth and to pay for increases in day to day spending. she said taxes would have to go up by a lot. she sought to blame the previous government. their failure to assess the scale of the challenges facing our public services means that this budget raises taxes by £40 billion. any chancellor standing here today would have to face this reality. the largest chunk of this comes from increasing the amount employers pay in national insurance. this will raise £25 billion per year by the end of the forecast period. i know that this is a difficult choice. i do not take this decision lightly.

we are asking businesses to contribute more. the government�*s opponents say this breaks a manifesto promise not to increase national insurance. labour insists the pledge applied only to employees, but the chancellor decided against extending a freeze on tax free allowances, which could have led to 400,000 more people paying tax for the first time. i am keeping every single promise on tax that i made in our manifesto. so there will be no extension of the freeze in income tax and national insurance thresholds beyond the decisions by the previous government. the biggest beneficiary of the tax rises will be the nhs in england, with a £22 billion boost to its day to day spending. this is the largest real terms growth in day to day nhs spending outside of covid since 2010. but the outgoing leader of the opposition accused labour of not being straight with voters on. of not being straight with voters.

0n the day that he took office. the prime minister said that he wanted to restore trust to british politics with action, not words. well, today his actions speak for themselves with a budget that contains broken promise, after broken promise. and reveals and reveals the simple truth that the prime minister and the chancellor have not been straight with the british people. time, time and again. time and again, we conservatives warned labour would tax, borrow and spend far beyond what they were telling the country. and time and again they denied they had such plans. but today the truth has come out. proof that they planned to do this all along. the lib dems also disagreed with some of the tax rises, but in other areas they wanted to see more spending. the conservatives left behind l

an enormous mess in our nhs, but i'm afraid it won't be fixed unless the government fixes i social care too. the cost of living crisis won't be solved by hitting families, - pensioners, family farms - and struggling small businesses. and our economy won't grow strongly again unless we repair our broken- relationship with europe. the big political picture is even easier to see now than it was at the last election, with clear blue water between the government and opposition over taxation, spending and borrowing. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. joining me now is our political correspondent, nick eardley. i , record tax raising budget, £40 billion, just give me a sense of the reaction amongst the mp5 you�*ve been talking to. reaction amongst the mp5 you've been talkin: to. . , reaction amongst the mps you've been talkin: to. . ., talking to. there was always an assumption _ talking to. there was always an assumption today _ talking to. there was always an assumption today was - talking to. there was always an assumption today was going . talking to. there was always an assumption today was going to |

talking to. there was always an - assumption today was going to be a big deal. labour mps wanted it to be a big deal, wanted to be something they could go and use and see to their constituents. when we talk to about change, we meant it. to an extent they didn�*t get something that was really big, a big change. we were there £40 billion of tax rises. extra borrowing, a big deal. so all of this really matters and it is labour setting up. we have the big political debate which is playing out at the moment and then we have the small print. 350 pages of this stuff, some from the treasury, some from the office of budget response ability. when i�*m chatting to tori mps flicking through this trying to find the bad news, there are a few things they are holding on to, saying this shows it�*s not as easy and government as

it�*s not as easy and government as it might seem. growth, economic growth, something about so much between during the election campaign, goes up for a couple of years in the forecast but then starts to come down, the level of growth that was forecast is reduced under these plans in the last few years of this parliament. there are other things hidden in this document which i think we�*ll hear more about in the next few days, disposable income, increase in disposable income, increase in disposable income there was forecast has been reduced mortgage rates are projected under these plans to go up, interest and is projected to go up a small bit as well. nothing like the sort of levels we saw one we saw massive economic shocks after liz truss�*s mini budget. the big political debate about how this budget is received is going to play out over the next few days, weeks and months. half an hour ago we heard from the man who delivered the last budget families that pay the price. tie: argu who they would families that pay the price. ti9 argu who delivered ld families that pay the price. t'i9 argu who delivered the families that pay the price. ti9 argu who delivered the last budget before this one, the former man who delivered the last budget before this one, the former chancellor now shadow chancellor, jeremy hunt. chancellor now shadow chancellor, jeremy hunt.

this is not a debate about getting this is not a debate about getting more _ this is not a debate about getting more funding for the nhs in public more _ this is not a debate about getting more funding for the nhs in public service, _ more funding for the nhs in public service, they needed more money, service, _ more funding for the nhs in public service, they needed more money, they found — they found — service, they needed more money, they found money when we were in service, they needed more money, they found money when we were in power. _ they found money when we were in power. the — they found money when we were in power, the choice is whether you power. _ they found money when we were in power. the — they found money when we were in power, the choice is whether you find that— power, the choice is whether you find that— power, the choice is whether you find that extra money through tax find that extra money through tax rises _ find that extra money through tax rises that— rises _ find that extra money through tax rises that— find that extra money through tax rises that are incredibly damaging to the _ find that extra money through tax rises that are incredibly damaging to the _ rises that are incredibly damaging to the economy, or whether you are rises that are incredibly damaging to the economy, or whether you are prepared _ to the economy, or whether you are prepared to — to the economy, or whether you are argument they would prepared _ to the economy, or whether you are prepared to — to the economy, or whether you are prepared to make difficult decisions prepared to make difficult decisions on welfare reform refund the money a on welfare reform refund the money a different _ on welfare reform refund the money a different way. the result of what different _ on welfare reform refund the money a different way. the result of what the government has done today is the government has done today is very damaging tax rises for ordinary very damaging tax rises for ordinary families, _ families, _ very damaging tax rises for ordinary families, it's going to mean lower very damaging tax rises for ordinary families, it's going to mean lower wages. _ families, it's going to mean lower wages, higher mortgages, higher wages. _ families, it's going to mean lower wages, higher mortgages, higher prices, _ wages, higher mortgages, higher prices, living standards going down, prices, _ wages, higher mortgages, higher prices, living standards going down, that's— that's— prices, living standards going down, that's according to their own prices, living standards going down, that's according to their own economic— that's according to their own economic watchdog, the 0br and that economic— that's according to their own economic watchdog, the 0br and that 'ust 'ust economic watchdog, the 0br and that just goes— economic watchdog, the 0br and that just goes to show that when labour economic watchdog, the 0br and that just goes— economic watchdog, the 0br and that just goes to show that when labour government puts up taxes, however government puts up taxes, however they dress _ they dress _ government puts up taxes, however they dress it up, it's ordinary families— government puts up taxes, however they dress it up, it's ordinary families— they dress it up, it's ordinary families that pay the price. the they dress it up, it's ordinary families that pay the price. the

ara ument families that pay the price. the argument they _ families that pay the price. tie: ara ument families that pay the price. the argument they _ families that pay the price. ti9 argument they would make an responses that they would have to make difficult choices, and their choice to put taxes up on businesses not on people�*s paychecks, is

from the office for budget responsibility, they about responsibility, they talk about insurance contributions for employers. this won�*t come off people�*s paychecks but the obr says it presumes 76% of the total cost is passed on through lower wages over time. that sort of debate will play out over the next few days. with the government has tried to do is say we are a new government and we are prepared to make difficult choices to rebuild public services that are crumbling. they are focusing on things like the nhs and schools, saying if businesses are going to thrive, they need a good health service. they need people coming out of school well educated, that is the crux of the debate that is playing out, but it�*s far from crux of the debate that is playing out, but it�*s farfrom done. trlick out, but it's far from done. nick early there. _ out, but it's far from done. nick early there, in _ out, but it's far from done. nick early there, in westminster. thank you very much.

i speak now to emma reynolds. we�*ve heard broken promises on top of broken promises. irate heard broken promises on top of broken promises.— heard broken promises on top of broken promises. we have kept to romises broken promises. we have kept to premises we _ broken promises. we have kept to promises we set _ broken promises. we have kept to promises we set out _ broken promises. we have kept to promises we set out in _ broken promises. we have kept to promises we set out in our - promises we set out in our manifesto. the first of the promises was to restore economic stability and rebuild our public services which thanks to the last government are on their knees. it is so important that we start again to invest in our nhs, invest in our schools and you heard a lot about that from the chancellor earlier. so we are absolutely making a choice between decline and chaos of the previous 14 years and indeed austerity during that time to investment in our public services, and that is what the british people voted for, they voted for change and thatis voted for, they voted for change and that is what we are beginning to deliver. :, . , :, that is what we are beginning to deliver. :, . , :, deliver. you said that you stuck to our deliver. you said that you stuck to your manifesto _ deliver. you said that you stuck to your manifesto promises. - deliver. you said that you stuck to your manifesto promises. let - deliver. you said that you stuck to your manifesto promises. let me| deliver. you said that you stuck to - your manifesto promises. let me read your manifesto promises. let me read you out a quote from a labour spokesman from that campaign.

specific tax loopholes we could close to bring an immediate injection of cash in our public service, nothing in our plans requires any additional tax to be increased. you�*ve raised tax by a record amount in this budget. it is about trust and potentially a breach of trust here. irate about trust and potentially a breach of trust here-— of trust here. we promised in the manifesto that _ of trust here. we promised in the manifesto that we _ of trust here. we promised in the manifesto that we would - of trust here. we promised in the manifesto that we would not - manifesto that we would not increase income tax, vat or national insurance on working people. and we have kept to that promise today. but when we got into power, we hadn�*t realised the true extent of the fiscal inheritance that we were about to uncover, £22 billion of a black hole, treasury reserves spent three times over, that is what we�*ve had to take some difficult decisions today about increasing national insurance contribution burdens for employers. i will say this, over half of employers, that�*s 1 million

businesses across the country will not be negatively affected by the national insurance change and the smallest businesses will be taken out of national insurance altogether because of the increase in the employment allowance. in because of the increase in the employment allowance. in terms of reaction we've _ employment allowance. in terms of reaction we've had _ employment allowance. in terms of reaction we've had already - employment allowance. in terms of reaction we've had already in - employment allowance. in terms of reaction we've had already in the i reaction we�*ve had already in the last few hours since the budget was announced, so many business groups and businesses really worried about the impact on them, because you are talking about an increase in national insurance for employers, those contributions, but then you add on the increase to the minimum wage. you have that package of employment rights and they are feeling under the cost, how does that encourage people to take on more workers to encourage the growth that you say is utterly fundamental— we are restoring economic stability. we are restoring economic stability. we had a record—breaking international investment summit just a couple of weeks ago and businesses... a couple of weeks ago and businesses. . ._ a couple of weeks ago and businesses... �* �* . ,, . businesses... but i'm talking about small businesses _ businesses... but i'm talking about small businesses employing - businesses... but i'm talking aboutj small businesses employing people employing additional people, keeping

wage rates at the rate they are currently. how does any of what you�*ve announced today encourage them with taking on more people— well, i was coming on to that. businesses need a healthy and well educated workforce, under their last government we�*ve seen at record levels of inactivity and record levels of inactivity and record levels of inactivity and record levels of people who are unable to work because we�*ve had 7.5 million people on nhs work because we�