In today’s newsletter: As the chancellor prepares to deliver one of the most heavily briefed budgets ever, tax rises, the two-child benefit cap and a ‘mansion tax’ are all on the table
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Good morning. If you haven’t noticed, the lead-up to this year’s budget has been unusually chaotic and drawn-out, with plenty of behind-the-scenes briefings and a whirlwind of speculation about what taxes will be hiked.
The challenge facing the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is plugging a financial hole of around £20bn and raising money to fund the services voters demand, while also keeping taxes at an acceptable level. (If you think you’ve got what it takes, try our brilliant interactive budget game). The political backdrop to this budget is also significant – the prime minister is under siege, and needs to present something that will be well received by MPs.
Budget | Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut cash Isa limits by 40% could raise mortgage rates, according to finance bosses. The chancellor is expected to cut the maximum amount people can put into tax-efficient cash individual savings accounts from £20,000 to £12,000 in Wednesday’s budget.
Politics | Three more school contemporaries who claim to have witnessed Nigel Farage’s alleged teenage racism have rejected the Reform UK leader’s suggestion that it was “banter”, describing it as targeted, persistent and nasty.
Ukraine | Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff advised a senior Kremlin official on how Vladimir Putin should pitch a Ukraine peace deal to the president, according to a transcript of their discussion published by Bloomberg.
Criminal justice | Jury trials for all except the most serious crimes such as rape, murder and manslaughter are set to be scrapped under radical proposals drawn up by David Lammy
Media | The BBC has been pulled into a fresh row over its treatment of Donald Trump after a Reith lecturer accused the broadcaster of censoring his remarks on the US president. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch author and historian, said the BBC removed a “key line” from a flagship address it had invited him to deliver.
