Working to make government more effective

Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the Labour Party Conference 2024
Project

Autumn budget 2024

Key things in Rachel Reeves' first budget and the trade-offs she faced in advance.

On Wednesday 30 October, Rachel Reeves delivered her first budget as chancellor, and the first budget from a Labour government for 14 years. Alongside the latest forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility, she announced the government’s new fiscal rules, reveal changes to the tax system, and set a new path for spending on public services and broader capital investment. 

The Institute for Government assessed the trade-offs she faced in advance of the budget and analysed the new forecast and the choices she made after.

What did Rachel Reeves’ budget reveal about the government’s priorities?

Watch our webinar as Institute for Government experts give their instant reaction to Rachel Reeves’ first budget and make sense of her plans for the economy.

Watch online
Rachel Reeves gives a press conference in Downing Street.

Our experts

Senior leadership
Gemma Tetlow

Gemma Tetlow

Executive Director for Research and Innovation

Political party
Labour
Administration
Starmer government
Department
HM Treasury
Publisher
Institute for Government

Related content

11 FEB 2026 Project

Spring forecast 2026

On Tuesday 3 March, the government will publish the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest set of economic and fiscal forecast.

03 FEB 2026 Project

The Treasury

The Treasury, headed by the chancellor of the exchequer, is the UK’s economics and finance ministry.