By Andrew Hammond

It is relatively rare for economic events in the UK to cause big political ripples globally. However, last Wednesday’s Budget could be different. Many people, not only domestically but internationally as well, were looking closely at the most important fiscal statement by a British government in a generation.

There are several reasons why the Budget is potentially era-defining, politically and economically, including the fact that, following the party’s victory in the election in July, it is the first fiscal event by a Labour government since 2010, during the final days of Gordon Brown’s administration.

Given the huge majority Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government enjoys in the House of Commons, Labour might well remain in office not only until the end of the current Parliament in 2028 or 2029, but possibly well into the 2030s if a second term is secured, even with a reduced majority. This means this week’s Budget could shape the UK’s political agenda for much longer than the typical annual Budget.

In her statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched what she described as “a new era of public and private investment in hospitals, schools, transport and energy, as momentous as any in Labour’s history”.

What she was attempting to do here was to try to draw political comparisons with the big programs of reforms that began in 1945 under Prime Minister Clement Attlee, in 1964 under Harold Wilson, and in 1997 under Tony........

© Eurasia Review