UK faces pivotal budget amid slumping sentiment

Financial tightening: (From left) Reeves, Miliband and Starmer meet workers on a visit to a glass factory in Chester. The exchequer says she has plans that could unlock billions of pounds of investment and promises to deliver a budget of “real ambition”. — Bloomberg

LONDON: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ repeated warnings about the perilous state of the UK’s public finances have been so successful she has turned her budget this month into an inflection point for the economy.

Reeves is barrelling towards a career-defining financial statement on Oct 30 facing a broad and sharp decline in sentiment among consumers and businesses, which economists widely attribute to fears about her plans to fill a £22bil (US$29bil) financial hole.