26 Nov 2025Addressing the House of Commons, Chancellor Rachel Reeves used the 2025 Autumn Budget to freeze Income Tax and National Insurance (NI) thresholds for an extra three years beyond 2028; remove the two-child benefit cap from April 2026; and extend the 5p 'temporary' Fuel Duty cut on petrol and diesel until September 2026. Ms Reeves promised that the Budget measures will help put the public finances on a 'sustainable path' and tackle inflation to build a 'fairer, stronger and more secure Britain'. She commented: 'I said I would cut the cost of living and I meant it. This Budget will bring down inflation and provide immediate relief for families.' Responding to the Chancellor's speech, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch labelled the Budget as a 'smorgasbord of misery'. Ms Badenoch stated: 'Last year [the Chancellor] put up taxes by £40 billion, the biggest tax raid in British history. She swore it was a one-off. 'She is out of money. Out of ideas. Out of her depth. And she has run out of road.' Meanwhile, Adrian Ramsay, spokesperson for the Green Party, said: 'Instead of delivering a transformational Budget to tax extreme wealth fairly and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, this Labour government has once again chosen to paper over the cracks with half-measures that won't do enough to fix the deep-rooted problems in our economy that are keeping ordinary people in poverty while the super-rich get richer.'