School politics class: Budget exposes Labour to charges of being ‘high tax, high welfare’ party

This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.

Specification:

• AQA Component 3.1.2.3: Political parties: the origins, ideas and development of the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties and how these have helped shape their current policies

• Edexcel Component 1, 2.2: Established Political Parties: The origins and historical development of the Conservative party, the Labour party and Liberal Democrat party, and how this has shaped their ideas and current policies on the economy, law and order, welfare and foreign affairs

Background: what you need to know

Rachel Reeves’ November 2025 budget has opened up a clear left-right divide in UK politics. It was billed as a ‘Labour budget’ which will increase taxes by £26bn, targeting owners of houses worth over £2mn, landlords and dividends.

The government has pleased its backbenchers by scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which it refused to do last year on grounds of affordability. The Conservatives, however, have depicted the budget as raising taxes on working people to finance welfare spending, and Reeves as breaking a pledge that the increases in last year’s budget were a one-off.

Read the article below and then answer the questions:

Budget exposes Labour to charges of being ‘high tax, high welfare’ party

For more detail on the arguments around the two-child benefit cap, follow this link in the article:

The politics of scrapping the two-child benefit cap

Question in the style of AQA Politics Paper 1

• ‘The ideas and policies of the main UK political parties are strongly opposed.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement. [25 marks]

Question in the style of Edexcel Politics Paper 1

• Evaluate the view that the ideas and policies of the main UK political parties are very different from each other.

  You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. (30 marks)

TIP: You should look at several policy areas. Edexcel require knowledge of economic policy, law and order, welfare and foreign policy. Remember to consider areas of difference and similarity in each case, and to include the Liberal Democrats among the ‘main UK political parties.’

Graham Goodlad, Portsmouth High School