Loose Women pulled off air and This Morning cut short in ITV schedule shake up
LOOSE Women will be pulled off air today, with This Morning cut short too, in ITV's latest schedule shake up.
In the latest overhaul to the channel's programme, This Morning will finish earlier than usual today, wrapping up at 12:15pm instead of its regular 12:30pm slot.
The disruption comes as ITV adjusts its schedule to accommodate the budget announcement, which is set to air from 12:15pm to 2:30pm.
Unfortunately for fans, Loose Women will not air at all today.
Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary have been fronting This Morning all week, with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard off for half term.
While specific details of the budget remain under wraps, it's anticipated that the announcement will outline key fiscal policies and spending plans, which often have far-reaching implications for the economy and public services.
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This is not the first time Loose Women and This Morning have faced disruptions due to significant national events.
ITV frequently alters its schedule to accommodate major sporting events, such as the UEFA European Championship or Wimbledon, and political developments, including election coverage.
During last year's elections, both shows were axed to provide viewers with the latest updates.
Normal programming is expected to resume tomorrow, with Loose Women returning to its regular slot.
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Rachel Reeves will today insist the prize of a better Britain is immense — but the country will have to stomach tax rises of up to £35billion.
The Chancellor will say there is no short-cut to economic stability while plotting to put “more pounds in pockets”.
Money will be ploughed into the NHS, rebuilding schools and building more affordable homes, as she vows to “invest, invest, invest” to drive growth in her Budget plans.
But she faces ex-PM Rishi Sunak, who has called out the Government for deception and broken promises, in his last major outing as Tory leader.
He will criticise her as she is set to change the fiscal rules, allowing for a borrowing spree of up to £50billion.
Ms Reeves will insist workers’ pay will be protected as she will not raise income tax, national insurance and VAT.
But there is speculation that employer national insurance contributions and capital gains tax will go up in the Budget.
Ms Reeves will say: “The prize on offer today is immense.
“And the only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest.”
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Mr Sunak said: “Ms Reeves vowed she wouldn’t change the debt target as that would be ‘fiddling the figures’.
“We know the promises are worthless.”
BRITAIN’S MOST MEMORABLE BUDGETS
Today is the first Labour budget for 14 years - and the first ever to be delivered by a female Chancellor.
Brits are bracing for a raft of tax hikes as Rachel Reeves tries to plug the "£22billion black hole" she says she's found in government accounts.
Here are five other budgets which have caused a stir over the years.
1979 - Geoffrey Howe, Conservative
Margaret Thatcher's Chancellor Geoffrey Howe slashed both the top rate of income tax and the standard rate.
He also doubled VAT - shifting the tax burden from income to consumption in a huge change for Brits.
Howe also eased controls on foreign exchange in a bid to control inflation.
The budget signalled a massive break from the last Labour government and set the pattern for decades to come.
1988 - Nigel Lawson, Conservative
Nigel Lawson (dad to domestic goddess Nigella) massively slashed income tax again.
The deputy Commons speaker twice cleared the chamber amid noisy protests from Labour MPs slamming the tax cuts.
Lawson also set off a property bonanza by announcing an end to double mortgage tax relief for couples buying homes.
1993 - Norman Lamont, Conservative
In March 1993 the economy was still reeling from Black Wednesday, when the pound crashed out of the European exchange rate mechanism.
Lamont announced tax rises including VAT on domestic gas and electricity.
Later that year Lamont's successor Ken Clarke froze personal tax allowance and brought in stealth taxes on insurance and plane passengers.
The Lamont and Clarke budgets marked the end of the Tories's scything tax cuts - and set the stage for Labour's return to office in 1997.
2002 - Gordon Brown, Labour
Brown raised national insurance by a penny on the pound to fund higher spending on the NHS.
The future PM had fretted over a possible backlash from voters who had re-elected Labour in 2001.
But he managed to pull off the largest rise in health spending in the history of the NHS.
2009 - Alistair Darling, Labour
Labour's last budget before today came amid the credit crunch and soaring unemployment.
Darling ramped up taxes and borrowing in a bid to fill up draining Treasury coffers.
Tory leader David Cameron blasted Labour's 'utter mess' - and was in power a year later.
2022 - Kwasi Kwarteng, Conservative
Kwarteng unveiled his economic package less than a month after becoming Liz Truss's Chancellor.
Technically, it was a fiscal statement rather than a budget - but it turned out to be just as seismic.
Rising Tory star Kwarteng announced £45billion in tax cuts including a drop in all rates of income tax.
Markets took frights and the pound went into freefall before the Bank of England waded in to stop a run on UK pension funds.
Mortgage rates soared and Kwarteng was out of the job just three weeks later.
