'Rich must pay more' Britons' hopes and fears for Labour's first budget

"I'm worried that the government will water down their plans to properly tax the wealthy," said Martin Coult, 68, from London.

- Jedidajah Otte

"I worry the wealthy won't be properly taxed yet again."

"Private education should be taxed on top of the VAT, and capital gains tax [CGT] needs to be at least equivalent to income tax. I fear Reeves and Starmer will cave in and lack the resources for meaningful investment in the public realm."

Coult, whose sole income is the state pension, has just lost his £500 winter fuel allowance and has received a £300 income tax bill as the frozen tax thresholds have dragged his state pension into taxable income territory.

"I'm down £800 already," he said. "That's a small price to pay if we get the improvements in public services we desperately need, but I would like to see the wealthy pay a lot more than me."

"Cliff-edge pension rule changes would be dreadfully unfair."

Deejay, a public servant from East Anglia, had been planning to retire next year and take out a tax-free £240,000 lump sum from his pension pot to pay for a house by the sea. Now the 59-year-old worries that Reeves's budget will throw a spanner in the works.