Andy Burnham’s ally warns Govt against ‘Budget for the backbenchers’ by raising taxes on business and more borrowing

AN ALLY of Andy Burnham has warned the government against a “Budget for the backbenchers” by raising taxes on business and further borrowing. Ex-Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane expects the Chancellor to up some of his £24 billion financial cushion and hike taxes which will be “bad news” for growth. He also warned against increasing levies on banks saying that it could harm investment during a pre-Budget event for the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and Ipsos. He said: “My expectation is that we will see some further borrowing through dipping into headroom… We will see some further tax rises, and neither of those, I think, are good news from a growth perspective. “Or put in a nutshell, I expect a Budget for the backbenchers rather than for business or the bond markets.” Haldane, understood to have been advising the PM, also backed the Tories’ plan for a smaller state had the best chance for growth. Read More on Politics Research from Ipsos and Niesr suggests 52 per cent of Brits fear financial markets could severely lose confidence in the government’s ability to pay back debt. Nearly two-thirds of British adults expect the Chancellor to announce tax increases at his Budget next week with 51 per cent anticipate increased borrowing.