How did Rachel Reeves’ do in her first autumn budget? We ask people on the frontlines, one year on

“It has fallen to the Labour party to rebuild Britain,” said Rachel Reeves as she stood at the dispatch box in October 2024 and delivered Labour’s first budget in 14 years. Her choices were not easy, but responsible, Reeves said – they would restore stability and rebuild public services.

As she gears up to deliver her second, with warnings of tax increases and make-or-break stakes for the government, how has that initial budget changed life for those working at the grassroots?

In the 2024 budget, fresh off Labour’s election victory, a few measures made the headlines: employer national insurance contributions (NICs) increased by 1.2% to 15%, while minimum wage went up 6.7% to £12.21 an hour. For those living on the margins, breakfast club funding tripled, alongside a £6.5 billion increase in schools spending, and the household support fund was extended.

Big Issue has been talking to those working in some of the country’s most vulnerable communities, supporting people in need. They include some of our 2025 Changemakers – our annual list of 100 people and organisations bringing change to their communities. If you want to nominate a 2026 Changemaker, you can do so here.

Did Rachel Reeves’ 2024 budget make life easier for them? Spoiler: nobody had much positive to say.

The school principal: ‘There’s no change in the level of deprivation’

“Schools are essentially worse off because of the budget, and that means we can’t fund a lot of the things we want to,” said David Scales, principal of Astrea Academy Woodfields.

Scales runs the most deprived school in Doncaster – but since the last budget rising costs have led him to reduce staffing levels, replacing 26 outgoing staff with 19 incoming.

“The support that would have gone primarily to disadvantaged children is essentially lessened,” he said.

This, said Scales, was largely down to measures from the previous budget – including the NICs increase. “We weren’t fully compensated for the rise in national insurance payments,” said Scales. “In fact, schools got a real terms cut in their budgets”

Positive measures, such as the increased carer’s allowance earnings threshold and the extension of the household support fund, have had little visible impact. “The situation on the ground in schools is that there is no substantive change in levels of deprivation and the problems that households are facing,” Scales said.

“It might be that action has been taken, but we are not noticing that staff, parents, or children are any better off at this stage.”

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• Millionaires tell Rachel Reeves: Tax us more or lose to Reform in the next election
• Frozen housing benefit pushes renters into homelessness. Will Labour finally listen and thaw it?

The international charity: ‘It’s made life harder’

“The last budget has made life harder for small independent charities like us,” said Jenny Handley, head of communications and fundraising at Bees for Development.

Nominated as one of Big Issue’s 2025 Changemakers by TV presenter Kate Humble, Bees for Development work with low-income communities around the world, sharing beekeeping skills to develop a reliable and sustainable income.

Handley said cuts to the international aid budget had affected their ability to support vulnerable rural communities around the world. Reeves cut the UK’s international aid spending from £15.3bn to £13.7bn in the 2024 budget. That’s down from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% with the funding going on defence spending instead.

“I see it in the communities we work with: fewer training opportunities for women and young people, slower progress in establishing sustainable livelihoods through beekeeping, and increased pressure on people already facing climate and economic challenges,” said Handley.

Handley said domestic measures had also brought challenges, and that Bees for Development wanted a restoration of international aid funding.

“Rising costs in the UK, including wage and national insurance increases, also make it more difficult to deliver our programmes efficiently,” said Handley.

The Yorkshire charity supporting children: ‘It risks diverting funds away’

The increase in NICs has created an “unavoidable financial gap,” said Emma Pears, founder of SELFA, a North Yorkshire charity which supports children living with difficulties.

Staff costs make up a large proportion of SELFA’s expenditure, and they could not absorb costs without reducing frontline services, Pears said.

“This means greater reliance on funders to bridge the gap and increased pressure on already stretched resources. For charities like SELFA this change risks diverting funds away from vital mental health support for vulnerable children and young people,” said Pears.

Reeves increased the amount carers could earn before losing carers allowance from £151 to £196 a week. Pears said this had brought some relief – but only went so far.

“Many carers we know describe the uplift as helpful, yet still extremely limiting. Once tax, national insurance and childcare costs are factored in, £195 provides only a small amount of financial breathing space,” Pears said. “Carers often talk about the constant anxiety of accidentally going over the limit, especially when overtime, holiday pay or payroll mistakes could trigger clawbacks and months of financial uncertainty.

“The widened threshold was a positive step, but carers’ experiences make clear that much deeper structural change is needed.”

The Scottish organisation helping those in crisis: ‘It was really difficult to cope with’

“It was incredibly difficult to stomach, especially for organisations who are trying to support people to get back into the economy,” said James Dunbar, founder of New Start Highland, a charity and social enterprise helping people in the north of Scotland get through poverty and social isolation.

Between the minimum wage rise and the NICs increase, Dunbar said he had been forced to contend with a six-figure cost increase. “It was a really difficult budget to cope with,” he said.

“We are trying to grow out of a difficult place for everyone, but with one hand tied behind our back.”

Dunbar said it had been hard to see any positives directly coming from the budget, and said of the NICs rise: “You actually wonder why they didn’t make charities exempt.”

The Londoners creating sustainable neighbourhoods: ‘It was good to be recognised for what we can do’

“Community action was a footnote in last year’s Budget, but even so, it was good to be recognised for what we can do,” said Ed Mayo of the Rural Urban Synthesis Society, a south London community land trust. But Mayo added the wider picture was tough.

“The challenge is that economic policy overall is doing so little to address the urgent issues that communities face. The UK housing crisis is above all an affordability crisis. One core reason is the treatment of land as a financial asset for private interests rather than as an asset, as well, for the common good,” Mayo said.

Looking forward, Mayo said community land trusts and community energy co-ops could play a part. “We want to be more than a footprint in the coming budget. For greener housing, we urge the government to favour sustainable construction materials – like modern timber – over indirect subsidies for fossil-fuel-intensive building practices,” Mayo said.

The Newcastle group supporting neighbours with food: ‘It made life harder for our community, but it has hardened our resolve to fight’

“The last budget has maintained a landscape where our work at Food & Solidarity is both a critical lifeline as well as a testament to the failures to protect us, our communities, and our families, said Elgan John, a community organiser with Food & Solidarity, a Newcastle-based organisation which provides food support and campaigns against poverty

“The continuation of the two-child benefit cap and no recourse to public funds after the last budget has meant tens of thousands of children spent another year of their life in poverty, completely unnecessarily,” John said.

Demand has increased for the group, named as one of Big Issue’s 2025 Changemakers who have distributed over 3,000 food parcels. John predicted next year will see more. 

“The government points to measures like the minimum wage increase. We can see these gains will be immediately erased by rising costs for the people we work with, pushing them into a deeper material crisis,” John said.

“Ultimately, the impact of the last budget is that it has forced grassroots groups like ours to become the emergency service for a system that only responds when it’s threatened, while simultaneously compelling us to build the power to challenge and change that system head-on.”

John added: “The budget in 2024 made life harder for our community; but it has hardened our resolve to fight.”

Do you know more about this story? Email Big Issue reporter greg.barradale@bigissue.com

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