DRAMA seems to follow Rachel Reeves and so it followed that Budget day had more of the same in store for the Chancellor as she prepared to deliver her Autumn Statement this week. Hot on the heels of early briefings and a series of well-trailed measures that removed any potential shock factor, the unthinkable happened – the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) stole Ms Reeves’s thunder by releasing its economic and fiscal outlook before she stood up in the House of Commons .

Just over a year ago, the UK Budget made history as the first to be delivered by a female Chancellor. The 2025 Autumn Statement was far from historic – but people won’t forget that OBR blunder or Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s blistering putdown of the Labour Chancellor afterwards.

A Budget with far less ch

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