UK finance minister Reeves says manifesto tax pledges still stand

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves said she was sticking to her Labour Party's manifesto commitments not to raise value added tax (VAT), national insurance contributions or the rates of income tax ahead of a budget on November 26.

"We made those commitments in the manifesto and those manifesto commitments stand," she told Times Radio on Monday when asked specifically whether she would hike VAT, a form of sales tax.

Before July 2024's election, Labour pledged not to raise the three taxes which are the main sources of government revenue, but there is growing speculation she could need to break at least one of those promises to balance the books.

Many economists think Reeves will need to find tens of billions of pounds more in revenue due to higher borrowing costs, a less certain growth outlook and a failure to pass welfare cuts through parliament.