Key figures from day when long-held records tumbled

The first Budget by a Labour chancellor in 14 years, and the first to be delivered by a woman, also signalled some major historical milestones for tax and spending.

- IAN JONES

Here are some of the key figures and economic benchmarks from Rachel Reeves’s speech, based on forecasts published separately by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Tax burden

The overall tax burden in the UK is forecast to rise from the equivalent of 36.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP, or the total value of the economy) in 2024-25 to 38.3 per cent in 2027-28: the highest level since records began in 1948.

At the time of the previous Budget in March 2024, the OBR forecast the tax burden would rise only as far as 37.0 per cent by 2027-28, just below the previous record of 37.2 per cent in 1948.

Policy announcements in the latest Budget have resulted in the forecast for 2027-28 being raised by more than one percentage point.

The projected figure of 38.3 per cent in 2027-28 is also more than five percentage points higher than the pre-pandemic level of 33.1 per cent in 2019-20.

The increase is driven “mainly by personal taxes”, including the impact of changes in employer rates of national insurance, and “capital taxes”, reflecting the likely rise in equity and property prices, the OBR said.

Total government spending