Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will warn that John Healey's first Budget next week could do more damage than Rachel Reeves' two previous £70 billion tax rises, accusing Labour of relying on “fictional” spending cuts to hide the fiscal crisis. She notes UK 30-year gilt yields have surged above 6%, their highest since 1998, leaving Britain paying more than 1 percentage point above Greece or Spain and nearly two points above Germany to borrow. She also criticises IMF praise for deficit reduction based on spending cuts, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies has called a “work of fiction”, leaving a £35 billion black hole in departmental budgets. Badenoch says Labour has raised public spending by over £100 billion in just over two years, while the Conservatives have identified £70 billion in concrete savings. A Labour spokesperson rejected the criticism, citing £500 billion of private investment secured and growth faster than expected.
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Related tickers and likely impact
GBP/USD
• NeutralRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/19/2026 | 1.33040 |
| Change that session | -0.20% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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