This is The Guardian.

For months there have been whispers and rumours about tax rises in the budget,

and on Tuesday, the Chancellor decided to make herself heard.

If we are to build the future of Britain together, we will all have to contribute to that effort.

Each of us must do our bit for the security of our country and the brightness of its future.

Is Rachel Reeves facing an impossible choice between economic necessity and political disaster?

Meanwhile, one of the ugliest aspects of modern politics refuses to go

away. The disgraceful, racist language that we heard from Reform MP last week belongs in the dark ages.

Why is language and policy that would once have been confined to the far-right fringe,

now part of mainstream politics?

And how can it be pushed back to the margins?

I'm John Harris, and you're listening to Politics Week in the UK for The Guardian.

Later on, we're going to be looking at rhetoric and policy on the right about Britishness and immigration policy,

which feels like it's pushing mainstream politics towards new extremes and what all that might mean in the real world.

But first, every week we get closer to the budget that will be unveiled on November the 26th,

while a lot of news about the British economy and the

state of the public finances seems to get grimmer and grimmer. A rise in income tax is probably

one of the most toxic things this government could do right now. People have been suffering

cost-living crisis for a very long time. They have a deep sense that modern life usually amounts

to paying even more for even less. And this Labour government, let's not forget, came to power last year on a manifesto

that explicitly ruled this kind of move out.

It's there on page 21 of Labour's 2024 manifesto, and I had another look this morning,

...