Business leaders urge Reeves to resign 'like Hugh Dalton' after Budget leaks: 'More leaks than the Titanic'

Repeated leaks occurred ahead of the Budget, drawing comparisons to Labour Chancellor Hugh Dalton's 1947 resignation after briefing a journalist. The Office for Budget Responsibility accidentally published its full economic forecast online hours before the speech and apologised. The premature release showed GDP growth expected to reach 1.5%, lower than previously projected, confirmed a freeze of income tax thresholds until 2030/31, announced a new annual tax on properties over £2m from 2028, and indicated plans to raise £26bn in taxes by 2029-30. Business leaders say the leaks have shattered market confidence and some demand resignation.

""This Budget has had more leaks than the Titanic," he said. "We elect officials to lead, not test every idea on the public like a focus group. At this rate we'll be voting on economic policy during Strictly.""

""Only in Britain can a whisper from Rachel Reeves move gilts harder than a Trump press conference moves crypto," he said. "It's less 'Budget strategy' and more 'live-action stress test'. Someone take the red box off her before the pound needs counselling.""

""These aren't accidental slips. They're incompetence or manipulation - neither builds the credibility a Chancellor needs when markets are already jittery," she said. "The 1947 standard was about protecting trust in the process. We need that standard back."}],"

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