Since her appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer in July, Rachel Reeves warned that the Autumn Budget would be full of tough measures, including steep tax hikes and spending cuts meant to address the budgetary morass left behind by the last government. Her warnings were followed by a decline in business and consumer confidence, an uptick in voluntary liquidations and even some reports of capital flight. 

Now that the budget has been revealed, Bloomberg reporter Philip Aldrick tells In the City her warnings may have undersold the historic nature of the Labour government’s first financial statement.