Britain braces for tax hikes as Rachel Reeves borrows more

Britain is braced for tax rises with Government borrowing hitting more than £20billion last month - a £1billion more than last year. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is accused of "maxing out the national credit card".

Concern is mounting about where tax rises will fall in the autumn Budget. The £20.2billion borrowing figure is the fourth highest for April since monthly records started in 1993. Analysts had expected borrowing to come in at £17.6billion.

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said: "The latest borrowing figures expose the true cost of Labour's reckless economic policies. Instead of reining in spending, the Labour Chancellor has piled billions onto the national debt by fiddling the fiscal rules and maxing out the national credit card.

"This follows on from borrowing last financial year coming out billions of pounds higher than the plans Labour inherited, and means wasting billions more pounds of taxpayers' money on debt interest."

Ruth Gregory of Capital Economics said: "With the markets seemingly uneasy about more public borrowing, further tax rises are starting to feel inevitable."

The higher borrowing has been fuelled by increases in public sector pay, National Insurance payments and increased benefits and state pensions. Public sector net debt is estimated to have gone up 0.7 points to 95.5% of GDP.

A Reform UK spokesman said: "Borrowing is once again through the roof and it means only one thing, British taxpayers will facing even more tax hikes this autumn."

Maxwell Marlow of the Adam Smith Institute warned: "The fact that Government borrowing is going up should alarm everyone. Over 8% of public spending is spent on debt repayment already.

"By increasing that number we're taxing our children, kicking the can down the road and making Britain a less attractive place to do business. We shouldn't be spending money that we don't have to pay for a state that's too big and too inefficient.

"Instead, we need to cut the bloat and reduce Government spending so we can lower taxes and give money back to the people who can spend it best - the individual Briton."

The pressure on the public finances will make it harder for the Chancellor to avoid breaking her fiscal rules - paying for day to day spending out of taxation and getting debt falling as a share of national income by the end of the Parliament.

Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, defended the Government's handling of the national finances.

He said: "After years of economic instability crippling the public purse, we have taken the decisions to stabilise our public finances, which has helped deliver four interest rate cuts since August, cutting the cost of borrowing for businesses and working people. We're fixing the NHS, with three million more appointments to bring waiting lists down, rebuilding Britain with our landmark planning reforms and strengthening our borders, delivering on the priorities of the country through our plan for change."