Today, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will deliver the Labour government’s first budget statement speech since coming to power in July.   

At around 12:30 pm on Wednesday, Reeves, who will become the first woman chancellor to deliver a budget speech, will unveil key areas of fiscal policy that will guide the direction of this government, in what many will see as the first real test on whether it can meet its manifesto pledges on the economy. 

Several policies have been teased ahead of the speech, from a major hike in capital gains tax rates to increased National Insurance employer contributions, in signs the Chancellor is turning to businesses to find ways to raise funds after promising not to introduce higher taxes on ‘working people’ 

Reeves has been keen to emphasise plans for increased spending on investment, telling the Observer that the financial plan she will lay out would allow Britain to enjoy “massive opportunities to grow our economy in the digital and energy sector”. She also appears to have relaxed self-imposed fiscal rules that would have severely restrained capital expenditure.  

Reeves is expected to say that “the only way to grow economic growth is to invest, invest, invest” but has vowed to impose ‘guardrails’ on government spending. That has failed to assuage some investor concerns, sparking a jump in government bond yields as markets braced for a rise in gilt issuance. 

For the latest on how key policies announced will affect UK tech, follow the UKTN live blog of the Autumn Budget below. 

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