investing in our future, economy, investing in ourfuture, delivering change, rebuilding britain. , . ., , delivering change, rebuilding britain. , . ., ., britain. they have raised tax to record levels! _ britain. they have raised tax to record levels! they _ britain. they have raised tax to record levels! they have - britain. they have raised tax to | record levels! they have broken their_ record levels! they have broken their promises and it is the working people _ their promises and it is the working people of— their promises and it is the working people of this country that are going — people of this country that are going to — people of this country that are going to pay the price! | people of this country that are going to pay the price! i have been thinkin: going to pay the price! i have been thinking about _ going to pay the price! i have been thinking about the _ going to pay the price! i have been thinking about the best _ going to pay the price! i have been thinking about the best word - going to pay the price! i have been thinking about the best word to . going to pay the price! i have been| thinking about the best word to use to describe this budget and it is this, it is big. i will bring you the key moments and my interview with the chancellor in the next few minutes. b, with the chancellor in the next few minutes. �* ~ . , ~ with the chancellor in the next few minutes. �* ~' . , ~ , minutes. a kitchen sink budget, the numbers matter _ minutes. a kitchen sink budget, the numbers matter in _ minutes. a kitchen sink budget, the numbers matter in every _ minutes. a kitchen sink budget, the numbers matter in every way, - minutes. a kitchen sink budget, the numbers matter in every way, apartl numbers matter in every way, apart from the impact on growth but the markets remain calm. as people right across the uk digest today's budget, we are in lowestoft on the suffolk coast finding out what it means for your finances and businesses. there is going to be an increase. it is certainly a challenge to find that extra money. being a working mum, i think she has thought about that as well, and getting people back to work. also tonight... apocolyptic scenes in spain — at least 95 people have

died in flash floods, after a year's worth of rain injust eight hours and dozens are still missing. and your voice, your bbc news — i've been to meet one viewer who got in touch about plans to put up hundreds of pylons across this suffolk countryside. on newsnight at 10.30pm tonight — we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day, with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters — and of course, look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at ten, live from the east point pavillion here in lowestoft — the most easterly place in the uk. the first labour budget for 11! years has laid out a string of tax rises to raise £40 billion a year.

the chancellor, rachel reeves, promised to restore economic stability and improve what she called "broken public services", investing more in schools, the nhs and housing. the scale of today's budget is huge. employers and businesses will carry a lot of the tax burden. some £25 billion will come from a rise in employers' national insurance contributions. there's an increase to capital gains tax, levied on profits from selling assets like shares. the inheritance tax threshold freeze will be extended by a further two years to 2030. and the chancellor is abolishing the non—dom tax status. the chancellor announced a raft of spending plans too — £22.6 billion will go to the nhs in england for its day—to—day spending. investment in education, to pay for maintenance and school buildings, will increase to 6.7 billion in england next year. an extra i billion has

been also been earmarked for special educational needs. and £11.8 billion has been put aside to compensate victims of the infected blood scandal. there's 1.8 billion too for victims of the post office scandal. the opposition leader, rishi sunak, described the budget as "an enormous borrowing spree" that contains "broken promise after broken promise". tonight, we're in lowestoft to look at what the budget means for you, we'll get reaction from people here in the town. first, here's our political editor chris mason on the scale of today's announcements. it isn't the most famous door on downing street, but the build—up on what's been going on behind it has been growing for weeks, the focus getting sharper on what would be in the budget and who is unveiling it. a genuine moment of history, this — hundreds and hundreds of blokes for centuries and centuries

have had a moment like this, delivering a budget as chancellor. and yet this is the first time ever it's been done by a woman, and a big budget it is too — big borrowing, big spending and big tax rises. i call the chancellor of the exchequer! l the first budget from labour in nearly 15 years. and a reminder, if you really mean it, say it three times. the only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest. investing means spending, even if the hope is it will lead to lots of long—term gains, and spending is necessary, rachel reeves claimed, because of all of the bills the conservatives left them. their failure to assess the scale of the challenges facing our public services means that this budget raises taxes by £40 billion. £40 billion — a colossal amount of money.

this is a huge change—making budget, one way or the other, a massive money—raiser for the chancellor, hiking the national insurance paid by employers, both the rate and when it kicks in. if the party opposite chooses to oppose this choice, then they are choosing more austerity, more chaos, more instability. this is the choice that our country faces too. but it won't be a choice for some to pay more capital gains tax, inheritance tax or vat on private school fees. so where is all this money going? there's some more for the ministry of defence, there's a rise in the minimum wage, and the health service is getting a big chunk more. this is the largest real—terms growth in day—to—day nhs spending outside of covid since 2010. but if you feared the cost of filling up going up, courtesy of the chancellor, it isn't. so i have decided

today to freeze fuel duty next year and i will maintain the existing five point cut for another year too. but the government has found a way to loads more money for longer—term spending — what they call investment — by changing their own rules on how much they can borrow. butjust like for you and me, it costs to borrow money. this is a moment of fundamental choice for britain — investing in our future, delivering change, rebuilding britain. we on these benches commend those choices and i commend this statement to the house. responding in his last big moment in thejob, rishi sunak. 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 plan to do this all along. and here the reaction from others. we needed a different budget to repair the damage done . to our country and to give people the fair deal they deserve. - for our constituents, these benches will push the government to do . far more for our- economy, nhs and care. they are what liberal democrats will always champion. _ i think it's a missed opportunity, u nfortu nately. i was looking for the chancellor to introduce policies and a change to the taxation system that would create a fairer society and a greener economy. she inherited a very challenging situation from the previous government. however, despite the fact that it is a very significant budget in terms of tax rises, if we consider the increase to the provision of public services and day—to—day spending, it is still quite modest. this is the biggest tax rise in a generation. this is classic labour, isn't it? big tax, big spend. i'm not disputing the fact that this is a big budget. it's the first budget

of this parliament. it wipes the slate clean under the fiction of the previous plans. but this is not a sort of budget that we would want to repeat, but this is the budget that is needed. the office for budget responsibility, the independent watchdog, says that growth in wages and salaries and profits are constrained by the increase in employer national insurance. you guys talk about yourselves being pro—business and pro—worker. the obr don't believe it, so why should anyone else? but if we had have just reversed the unfunded cuts that the conservatives made, that would have all been felt by working people. so it's a might have been worse argument? we have made the decision to put the tax burden that we're having to increase today on the wealthiest and on business. the scrutiny is just beginning here as the crowds are departing and a new political landscape is emerging. chris mason, bbc news in westminster. the chancellor was on her feet

for more than an hour and a quarter. it was one of the longest budget speeches in years — it was billed as a budget for growth. is that what the uk will now get? our economics editor, faisal islam, has been going through the numbers. this is what you might call a kitchen—sink budget. a massive budget in almost every way, but does it deliver the chancellor's repeated calls for more growth in the uk economy? this budget is certainly one of the largest tax—taking budgets of the post—war era. in fact, here are the largest 8 of the last 50 years, and when we look at them from largest to smallest, this budget is actually the second largest, comfortably surpassing denis healey�*s double, gordon brown, rishi sunak mid—pandemic, beaten only by norman lamont there in 1993. so why is this budget so big? well, partly, that's down to all the tax—raising measures, 40 billion in fact in a year — we're showing you 2028—29 here as an example. it includes

that employers' national insurance, raising 25 billion, although 5 billion is paid by the government. we have capital gains and inheritance tax raising 4 billion in that year. and the crackdown on non—doms, £3 billion in that year. but it's also a budget with some big spending going on. departments will get an extra £49 billion a year to cover things including pay — much of that will go to the nhs. there's £2 billion for compensation payments for the infected blood and the post office scandal. and then £24 billion extra in this year, long—term investment in major capital projects — road, rail, hospitals. all of that added together far exceeds what is raised in tax — by over £30 billion and that will be funded by extra borrowing. it's worth a pause — these are all massive numbers on any ordinary scale. and keep an eye on this one, which happens every year and is enabled by the change in borrowing rules and will fund serious future investments. we can see the impact of that here — this is where borrowing was predicted to go and now

compare that to the new path for borrowing after this budget — markedly up in every year mainly for that investment. it's a big change says the official forecaster. the biggest budget in history, measured in terms of the change and the orientation of fiscal policy. certainly one of the biggest budgets the uk has seen. over 1% gdp extra borrowing every year in each year of our forecast. and the biggest tax rise in history? yeah, tax is heading up to a record high of 38% of gdp. that's the highest it's ever been in a post—war period. so, big changes aimed to foster growth. does it? well, here is the growth forecast from march and this is the change forcast by the obr. the extra spending helped in the next two years but it's actually a little lower in three orfour years' time — no boom. the chancellor hopes to defy these forecasts, but much of the invetsment will take closer to a decade to fully boost the economy — think transport projects or a new energy grid.

and just as we come on air tonight, rare backing from the international financial body, the imf, for this tax raising budget. so a significant change, of numbers, of policy, of economic approach. and so far, the new chancellor has landed it with the markets, but we wait for the growth impact. faisal islam, thank you. well, it's businesses that will bear the brunt of the tax rises, with changes to employers' national insurance contributions and business rates, and on top of that, there's the rise in the minimum wage. our business editor, simonjack, has been guaging reaction. the mood was jolly among customers at this pub tonight but the mood of the owner of this and another pub and restaurant was decidedly less buoyant, who said today's budget was going to hit his business hard. ht going to hit his business hard. lit is catastrophic and it's catastrophic for small businesses. we will have to absorb this cost

through a number of measures. we may have to reduce costs, redundancies, reduced hours. we will have to increase prices and have to look for further efficiencies. ht increase prices and have to look for further efficiencies. h is increase prices and have to look for further efficiencies.— further efficiencies. it is not relaxin: further efficiencies. it is not relaxing news _ further efficiencies. it is not relaxing news for _ further efficiencies. it is not relaxing news for the - further efficiencies. it is not relaxing news for the owner further efficiencies. it is not i relaxing news for the owner of further efficiencies. it is not - relaxing news for the owner of this chain of spas who employs 160 people and says this budget will cost her £300,000 a year. her and says this budget will cost her £300,000 a year.— and says this budget will cost her £300,000 a year. her first words were invest. _ £300,000 a year. her first words were invest, invest, _ £300,000 a year. her first words were invest, invest, invest - £300,000 a year. her first words i were invest, invest, invest because she knows— were invest, invest, invest because she knows you can't grow unless you are investing, but i ask her, how can i_ are investing, but i ask her, how can i invest _ are investing, but i ask her, how can i invest if you have just taken all of— can i invest if you have just taken all of my— can i invest if you have just taken all of my tax? if you had taken all of our— all of my tax? if you had taken all of our profits in tax, how can i invest— of our profits in tax, how can i invest in— of our profits in tax, how can i invest in my— of our profits in tax, how can i invest in my business to grow it? this new government has insisted it is possible to be pro—business, progrowth and pro—worker but with a massive increase in national insurance and inflation busting rise insurance and inflation busting rise in the minimum wage and a plethora of new employment rights, it is making it more expensive and more complex to hire people and that will

deter morejobs and complex to hire people and that will deter more jobs and more growth. deter morejobs and more growth. but government promises to map out a brighter future government promises to map out a brighterfuture and government promises to map out a brighter future and invest billions in crucial infrastructure got a more positive response.— in crucial infrastructure got a more positive response. what we did hear from the chancellor _ positive response. what we did hear from the chancellor were _ positive response. what we did hear from the chancellor were some - positive response. what we did hear from the chancellor were some of i positive response. what we did hear. from the chancellor were some of the other things we have been asking for, so that long—term strategy and industrial strategy and that investment. so investment in infrastructure and building schools, hospitals, homes and that is really important because that drives supply chains, smp and local economic growth. chains, smp and local economic urowth. �* , ,, , chains, smp and local economic urowth. , ,, ., growth. businesses are footing a he bill growth. businesses are footing a hefty bill and _ growth. businesses are footing a hefty bill and are _ growth. businesses are footing a hefty bill and are hoping - growth. businesses are footing a hefty bill and are hoping the - hefty bill and are hoping the government will not be coming back for more, simonjack, bbc news. the nhs and schools will receive a lot more money. the chancellor says the education department will see its budget increase in real terms by 19%. that includes money for rebuilding more than 500 schools. and there's an extra £22 billion for the nhs�*s day to day budget. more on this from our education editor branwenjeffreys and our health editor hugh pym.

the nhs in previous winters. queues of ambulances at hospitals. ministers say the budget won't ease pressure this time, but the government hopes the measures will help the nhs do more planned operations and bring down waiting lists. the target is 40,000 more appointments and procedures each week by the end of the first year in power. the chancellor announced £25.7 billion more for the department of health in england over two years with annual increases after inflation of 3.8%. that's actually in line with the historical average. ministers hope that, with their investment, including some on new kit and buildings, they can hit their target by nextjuly. health organisations have welcomed it but pointed out that some of it will have to cover nhs pay, including the junior doctors' increase, and it's not clear how much that will leave for cutting waiting lists.

there was nothing today on nhs reform. the government is drawing up a ten—year plan, but that won't be published till the spring. the most vulnerable children, staff overstretched. the system for special educational needs is close to breaking point. today came a cash injection of £1 billion. that's on top of 10.7 billion a year already being spent. this did come as a surprise today, and it will help provide some short term relief in a system that really isn't coping. but it won't wipe out £4 billion of deficit sitting in local authorities. and it's not the long term reform that so many people say is needed. from just falling apart to dodgy concrete and asbestos, some schools across england are in a poor state. spending to fix them will rise to 6.7 billion. headteachers warned today that

will still mean slow progress and, from january, private school fees will attract vat, armed forces families will get some extra support. let's take a look at some of the other main measures announced in this budget. the surcharge on stamp duty for second homes in england and northern ireland will go up to 5% as of tomorrow. unspent pension pots will be subject to inheritance tax from april 2027 and rail links between york, leeds, huddersfield and manchester will be upgraded. railfares will go up by 4.6% next march. after describing potholes as a visible symbol of failure to invest in the nation, the chancellor said £500 million has been put aside for road maintenance. a flat rate duty on vaping liquid will begin from october 2026 with taxes on tobacco also going up. and there were cheers in the commons as the chancellor announced draught

duty on alcoholic drinks would fall by1.7%, meaning a penny off a pint in the pub. our cost of living correspondent, coletta smith, has been talking to people here in lowestoft about how their finances will be affected. this is a town that gets active early. and for the reynolds family, breakfast is served. i don't want to hold you back. are you heading out any second now? he's all right for a minute. becky runs her own party business. quite savvy as a mum and obviously a business owner, to make sure you're getting the best out of everything. and sam works for an electrical company. next year is remortgage time. so it's been all hands on deck... i help them put the chair covers on the chairs. - ..to keep the finances on track. i actually took another job on this year. i used to work in a pub. i would work all hours from 6:30 till 12, and then i'd then do all the school run the next day,

but my business needed it. we'll catch you a bit later on today, after the budget. i am taking steps to support people with the cost of living. _ most people here are watching a very different performance at this community theatre. but with seven staff to pay, des is keeping an eye on the budget too. overall, is it going to cost you more as a business? staff will see a pay rise and obviously that's going to have a knock on impact on other salaries as we go through the scale. helen runs music sessions here and is a carer herself. the strain that that put on me and my family has been immense, but it's so hidden. people are going to be allowed to earn more as a carer. how does that feel? for your well—being, it can be a really, really good thing to be able to go to work and contribute and be part of something, but the restrictions that have previously been around the amount of hours that you're allowed to work before you're disqualified, i think it's a really good message. i think carers need to be more valued, particularly family carers. you just sort of learn

to live within your means. for scott, the increase in benefit payments in april will help. i don't know how much that will be sort of on top of my overly monthly income. um, but, you know, great. you know, if it's going to be a little bit more, it's going to be a little bit more. george got in touch with us. he and his partner are trying to buy their first home. we his partner are trying to buy their first home-— his partner are trying to buy their first home. ~ ., ., ,, , first home. we need to make sure those preperties — first home. we need to make sure those properties are _ first home. we need to make sure those properties are affordable. i l those properties are affordable. i don't _ those properties are affordable. i don't expect the government to hand us a house. _ don't expect the government to hand us a house, we just expect hopefully a bit more _ us a house, we just expect hopefully a bit more help towards that goal of homeownership. so we double knot our bows so they don't fall. across town, i'm catching up with becky again at her party business. i felt she went on there and actually really smashed it. childcare for being a mum, breakfast clubs is going to be absolutely fantastic for me, especially when thomas gets older. also the support in the schools.

helping the schools is going to help me. giving people a higher wage, that customer is now going to spend more money. you're not a labour voter. it wasn't. .. you were nervous about this budget. yes, iwas, yeah, definitely, without a doubt. i didn't know what to expect. the few things that she has changed will help us actually. a chancellor promising to steady the ship. and for many people, perhaps not the choppy waters they'd feared. how soon will people notice a difference to their finances? most ofthe difference to their finances? most of the changes — difference to their finances? most of the changes kick _ difference to their finances? most of the changes kick in _ difference to their finances? most of the changes kick in in - difference to their finances? ill-lost of the changes kick in in april, so people have time to plan and businesses have time to plan, so the big change we are seeing in the minimum wage, that goes up in april as well as those national insurance contributions by employers, they have been announcements about council funding as well, that will come in in april, a lot of that going to special needs funding but

also potholes and affordable housing within that as well. there has been an extension to the household support fund, an extra billion pounds, that has come in from the 1st of april and will last a year, a big extension there, and those of a safety net across the uk, funding food banks right the way across the uk. further down along the horizon, there is a review about how people will be assessed for their disability payments so we may see big cuts there for people, and the question mark around whether businesses will cut people's i was take on fewer staff so it is not without risk but potentially a big boost for low income households who have beenjuggling boost for low income households who have been juggling very tight budgets for the last couple of years. extra spending in england means more funding for scotland, wales and northern ireland — £6.6 billion in total — in devolution payments. let's get reaction from the devolved nations, starting with our scotland editor, james cook, in aberdeen. here in aberdeen, the home

of the uk's oil and gas industry, there is concern about rachel reeves pushing up the overall level of taxation on the industry to 78%. they've been lobbying furiously here, though, and, while she has scrapped some tax breaks for investment, she is keeping some others. more generally, people in scotland may have to wait until the scottish government's budget in december before they understand the full impact of this budget. that's because a lot is controlled in edinburgh — some welfare payments, income tax and levels of public spending on schools, hospitals and so on. the scottish finance secretary, shona robison, says this budget is a step in the right direction. why is that? well, because rachel reeves says it will mean an extra £1.5 billion in spending for the scottish government this year and £3.4 billion next year. and that means, with the scottish parliamentary elections coming along in just 18 months' time, we can expect debate about how that money should be spent

and who should take the credit. back in the general election, labour claimed being in government here in wales and in westminster would deliver a real difference. today was the first big test of that. so what's the result? the chancellor's plans will give the welsh government an extra £1.7 billion to spend as it wants, but we know most will go into the welsh nhs, where there are record waiting lists for treatment, some patients waiting for more than two years. what today didn't bring was an end to the row over rail and the money labour has said wales is owed because of hs2 spending in england. it used to say wales should be given billions of pounds. that came down to hundreds of millions, but today there was no extra money because of hs2. there was a pledge on another long—standing issue — £25 million to maintain old coal tips, an effort to clean up the legacy of wales' industrial past. the power—sharing devolved government in northern ireland

is now looking relatively stable after being absent for five out of the last seven years. the chancellor has told ministers here at stormont that next year they'll get an additional £1.5 billion to spend and that will bring the total funding package to the highest ever level in real terms. local political leaders have said it will take some time to work through the details of what that means for running public services. the westminster government is also giving more money to the police service of northern lreland~ — there will be an extra £7 million for the fund, which helps it to tackle national security threats, including from dissident republican paramilitaries who are opposed to the peace process. and there's been a wide welcome for an announcement in relation to regeneration schemes for local councils, known as city and growth deals. there are four in northern ireland. two had been on hold, but now we know they will go ahead and they're worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

how is it going down? let's speak to our political editor, chris. i think the key thing to reflect on is what we have been talking about, the scale of this budget, this is what people here are on an stamp through it are labour's instincts that will view this idea of the bigger borrowing and bigger taxes and bigger spending, and labour, when they see this, they will see it is notjust red in colour but feels very red in its politics, they are happy with that, but this is the moment of maximum scrutiny and potentialjeopardy for moment of maximum scrutiny and potential jeopardy for the chancellor after this budget, and i noticed one little wrinkle tonight, there is real anger amongst many farmers about changes to inheritance

tax that they say could have a really big impact on them, that is a row i will keep watching, and the scrutiny for rachel reeves will continue into the morning, she will be here on breakfast and on the radio as well, and that will continue in the days ahead. one final point, when you look at the forecasts, growth remains an issue in the coming years, the central mission of this government. an disposable household income, money that you have in your pocket or crucially that you don't have in your pocket, is not growing particularly quickly and if the government can't shift either or both of those things, they could end “p both of those things, they could end up with a very cheese stuffed electorate come the next election. —— cheesed off. and victoria derbyshire will have more on the budget on newsnight on bbc two shortly. i will interview some of the key players in the budget and asking,

where is the growth in what rachel reeves calls a budget for growth? plus, anger amongst farmers over inheritance tax changes, i will ask the chief secretary to the about that in many other things, join us in three minutes on bbc two and iplayer, see you then. victoria, thank you, and now to reeta with more of the day's news. in spain, at least 95 people have died in flash floods that have devastated parts of the south and east. rescuers are still searching for the missing, after mudslides and torrents of water swept away bridges — and left cars piled up on each other. parts of the valencia region received a year's worth of rain in eight hours yesterday. a british man has been confirmed among the dead in malaga. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, reports. these flash floods were truly apocalyptic. one town got a year's worth of rain injust eight hours. just watch what happens

to this bridge. shouting. these images have been widely shared on social media. there was little warning. one local mayor said the first flood alert was just half an hour before the torrent arrived. rescuers have been scrabbling to pluck people and their pets from the surging tide of filthy water all day. just look at the wreckage the floods left in their wake. it is a terrifying reminder of the extreme weather climate change could bring, say scientists. we are seeing a warming climate, which holds more moisture in the atmosphere, and we are seeing more severe storms happening more often. and this isn'tjust the devastating floods that we've seen in southern spain, but also across the uk and other parts of the world. "the whole of spain weeps with you," the spanish prime minister told the families of

the missing this afternoon. the rescue effort will continue into the night. justin rowlatt, bbc news. we can speak now to our correspondent bethany bell, who's in valencia for us now. terrible scenes, what is the situation where you are now? this has been described as one of the worst natural disasters in spain's history. i am standing not farfrom spain's history. i am standing not far from the river in valencia and the water must have rushed down the street with such force that it lifted cars off the ground, and there is destruction in areas across this region. in one village not too farfrom here, 40 people are known to have died including a number of people at a nursing home, and in the meantime the painstaking search for the missing goes on. spain's prime

minister has sent his