The UK’s public finance and spending watchdog concluded that Rachel Revees had delivered “large increases in spending, tax, and borrowing” with the country reaching a record tax take.
In its response to the budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed:
• The Budget increases spending by £70 billion annually, with two-thirds on current and one-third on capital spending.
• Half is funded through tax increases which raise £36 billion annually and push the tax take to a record 38 per cent of GDP.
• The rest is funded by £32 billion more borrowing annually which temporarily boosts GDP growth to 2 per cent in 2026, but leaves output unchanged in the medium term.
• New fiscal rules, to balance the current budget and get net financial liabilities falling relative to GDP in five years, are met by small margins of £10 and 16 billion respectively.The other half of the spending increase comes from higher borrowing – an extra £32bn per year.
• And while that temporarily boosts GDP growth to 2% in 2026, it leaves output “unchanged in the medium term.”
