Javi Aznarez Turns Starmer and Reeves Into Budget Outlaws for The New Statesman

This week’s New Statesman cover by @javi_aznarez gives us Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves bursting out of No.10 like a pair of political outlaws who realise the Budget press briefing starts in thirty seconds and the doors have locked behind them. Papers flying. Faces set. Full Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid energy, minus the charm, plus the national debt.

It lands the same week Labour tries to defend what the New Statesman itself calls the “Budget of last resort.” That’s a cheery way of saying, “Look, this was the only thing left in the drawer.” 👉 https://www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/2025/11/the-budget-of-last-resort

Javi’s illustration does what good political art always does. It tells the story faster than any headline. Two leaders, sprinting, defending the 2026 numbers like it’s the final showdown before the credits roll. You can practically hear the soundtrack: dramatic violins and the faint rustle of tax tables.

The government is freezing income-tax thresholds until 2030, dragging in billions through fiscal creep. They’re scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which is good news for families, but comes attached to tax hikes that will make a lot of voters sound like they’ve stepped barefoot on Lego.

Reeves admitted working people will “pay a bit more,” which is political code for “brace yourself.” 👉 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/27/reeves-admits-working-people-will-pay-a-bit-more-budget

The Financial Times called it a move that exposes Labour to being painted as a “high tax, high welfare” operation, which is basically the fiscal equivalent of getting a nickname at school that sticks forever. 👉 https://www.ft.com/content/fbb2a927-6987-437d-af4c-78b5356c9441

Time Magazine called it messy.
The Telegraph said Reeves may raise taxes again.
AP News went with “unpopular Labour tries to fight back.”

So no one is handing out medals. Except maybe the New Statesman art department, which absolutely nailed the mood!

Art director @gerrylb set the tone: a cover that looks like Starmer and Reeves legging it from a heist scene where the loot turned out to be spreadsheets and everyone’s arguing about decimal points. It captures the tension: a government trying to look heroic while the press reloads.

Starmer and Reeves want voters to believe this is the brave choice. The cover wants you to wonder whether they’re riding into the sunset or straight into incoming fire.

But one thing’s certain: if Westminster keeps looking like this, Javi Aznarez will never run out of material.