Why The Row Over Whether Rachel Reeves Misled The Country Matters

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

61% : The chancellor organised a surprise, early morning press conference on November 4 where she laid the groundwork for major tax rises in her upcoming Budget.
58% : It means more than 1.7 million workers will end up paying income tax for the first time ever, or be dragged into a higher tax band when their pay goes up.
52% : A choice to raise welfare spending.
51% : Nevertheless, the country was still left with the impression that the chancellor desperately needed to raise cash after the OBR said UK productivity had been less than previously thought, instantly knocking £16bn off tax receipts.
45% : The chancellor and her team spent the months leading up to the biggest fiscal event of the year hinting that tax hikes were inevitable due to the dire state of the public finances.
42% : Conway said: "In short: the reason the Chancellor raised taxes in the Budget wasn't due to an OBR downgrade.
41% : When she did then reveal last Wednesday, Reeves increases taxes by £26 billion with a series of tax rises, including extending the Conservatives' freeze on the income tax thresholds.
39% : Reeves also refused to rule out putting up income tax, a move which would have made her the first chancellor to do so since 1975 as well as being a clear breach of a key Labour manifesto pledge.

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