33 h. ago Voices: Starmer and Reeves are back from the brink – here’s what they must do next

After a spending review that came as a relief to many Labour backbenchers, the government must now start making the case for the ‘inevitable’ tax rises in the autumn that will be needed to deliver better public services, says Andrew Grice

Politics

3 d. ago Reeves only a ‘gnat’s whisker’ from having to raise taxes in autumn, says IFS – UK politics live

Institute for Fiscal Studies says figures for projected departmental efficiencies savings from Treasury are not credibleReeves gambles on ‘renewing Britain’ to win voters’ trustRachel Reeves is now on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Susannah Reid and Richard Madeley are interviewing her.Q: You must be disappointed about the growth figures? Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Rachel Reeves came out fighting — but there are big problems down the line

Analysis: Chancellor accused of unveiling a spending review which is ‘full off numbers, few of them useful’

Politics

3 d. ago Rachel Reeves seized her moment – whatever the future brings, Labour’s economic course is now set | Martin Kettle

The chancellor is no mere technocrat: her spending review revealed a visceral commitment to social and economic mobilityThe consensus has long been that the 2025 spending review would be a defining moment for Keir Starmer’s government. For once, the consensus proved spot-on. The government’s main priorities were set out on Wednesday in a blizzard of Commons announcements from Rachel Reeves, some economically substantive, others more for show. The upshot is that the shape of the British state, as Labour intends it, is now decided until the eve of the next election.There are further crossroads still to come, some of them major, as the years covered by the review unroll. Taxes are likely to rise, probably as soon as the autumn budget, to pay for Reeves’s big ticket boosts on Wednesday for defence, health and housing. Council tax could rise too, with possibly dramatic results. The review’s emphasis on capital spending means current spending could be squeezed again, perhaps heralding pay...

Economics

3 d. ago These unanswered questions could be Rachel Reeves’s downfall

Analysis: Chancellor accused of unveiling a spending review which is ‘full off numbers, few of them useful’

Politics

3 d. ago The Guardian view on Labour’s spending review: the chancellor tightened belts and loosened seams | Editorial

The government offers capital investment and fiscal prudence but real-terms department cuts and grand promises could strain political credibilityBrexit’s ghost haunts a Labour spending review intended to lay the foundations for a second term. Its headlines echo the twin themes of the referendum campaign: control immigration, fund the NHS. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she would end the use of hotels for asylum seekers “in this parliament” saving £1bn a year, while NHS spending will rise by 3% a year. Ms Reeves framed it as a politics of security and compassion. Yet it reads as Brexit’s populist promises, filtered through Westminster orthodoxy.The risk is that this is all slogan and very little solution. The asylum savings are speculative, and the annual increase in NHS budgets is below its historical average. There are also real-terms cuts or essentially flat budgets for key departments such as transport, education and local government. The Home Office faces cuts deeper than a...

Politics

3 d. ago Labour promised people we would rebuild Britain – and that’s what we’re doing | Keir Starmer

This week’s spending review marks a new stage in the mission of national renewal, built on the foundations laid last yearKeir Starmer is the prime minister of the United KingdomThe mandate we received from the British people could not have been clearer. First, we had to stop the chaos and return Britain to economic stability. Second, we had to turn the page on Tory decline with clear Labour choices. Third, we were instructed to rebuild our country.Wednesday’s spending review turbocharged that rebuilding. It is an investment in Britain’s renewal, so working people have more money in their pocket, more pride in their community and more hope for their children’s future. It’s what people voted for. An NHS cutting waiting lists, with care closer to the community. Wealth and opportunity no longer hoarded by only a few towns and cities. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Treasury minister dismisses claims spending review will lead to autumn tax rises – UK politics live

Darren Jones says such claims are ‘incoherent’ and the government is allocating money that has already been raisedSpending review: key points at a glanceGreen party MPs and activists joined a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealth Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago QUENTIN LETTS: One Labour MP sat with pen poised to write down all the Chancellor's thrilling announcements. It was soon lowered

Save perhaps in those first days after the general election, Rachel Reeves's Chancellorship has yet to have its time of pomp. QUENTIN LETTS asks: Will it ever?

Politics

3 d. ago Voices: How Labour’s spending review was shaped by Reform UK

The chancellor insisted her choices were “Labour choices.” But as I watched her deliver her statement, I couldn’t help thinking that much of it was aimed at seeing off the rising threat to Labour from Nigel Farage, writes Andrew Grice

Politics

4 d. ago Reeves says use of hotels for asylum seekers to end ‘in this parliament’ – UK politics live

Chancellor delivers spending review, claiming asylum move will save £1bn and says health spending represents a record cash investmentSpending review: key points at a glanceGreen party MPs and activists joined a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealth Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Spending review: Reeves vows to ‘renew Britain’ with big rises for NHS, housing and defence

Chancellor pledges to end spending on asylum hotels, as she contrasts Labour investment with Tory austerityUK politics live – latest updatesSpending review 2025: key points at a glanceFive charts underpinning Rachel Reeves’s decisionsRachel Reeves has pledged to “renew Britain” with a spending review prioritising health, defence and more than £100bn for long-term capital projects, despite leaving some key areas facing a tough squeeze on funding.In a speech to the Commons setting out Labour’s priorities up to the next general election, the chancellor said her investment programme would be felt in all corners of the country, while decrying austerity as a “destructive choice”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Five ways the Labour Government's spending review will affect Scots

The Chancellor set out budgets for government departments over the next few years.

Politics

4 d. ago DWP changes in full as Rachel Reeves announces Spending Review for 'working people'

After weeks of intense behind-the-scenes wrangling over who gets what, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled her Spending Review after the Labour Government U-turned on cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment

Economics

4 d. ago Reeves says use of hotels for asylum seekers to end ‘in this parliament’ and NHS spending to rise 3% a year – UK politics live

Chancellor claims asylum move will save £1bn and says health spending represents a record cash investmentSpending review: key points at a glanceGreen party MPs and activists staged a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the Chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealthSenior SNP figures held a secret meeting on Monday night to discuss removing John Swinney as party leader, The Herald has learned, following last week’s defeat in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection.One of the 25 attendees said the first minister had two weeks to come up with a new strategy on independence — or risk facing a leadership...

Politics

4 d. ago Voices: Has Rachel Reeves got the balance right in her first spending review? Join The Independent Debate

Rachel Reeves’ first multi-year spending review as chancellor delivers major investment pledges in health, housing and infrastructure, but critics have raised questions and warn that ‘sharp trade-offs are unavoidable’

Economics

4 d. ago Reeves sets out spending review as Labour government ‘moves to new phase’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out how she will allocate funds across Whitehall over the coming years.

Politics

4 d. ago PMQs: Starmer says there is ‘no easy answer’ to finding way of seizing frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine – UK politics live

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks prime minister about frozen Russian assets in the UK after sanctioning of two Israeli ministers on TuesdayGreen party MPs and activists staged a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the Chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealthSenior SNP figures held a secret meeting on Monday night to discuss removing John Swinney as party leader, The Herald has learned, following last week’s defeat in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection.One of the 25 attendees said the first minister had two weeks to come up with a new strategy on independence — or risk facing a leadership ch...

Politics

4 d. ago Labour's 'dangerous' spending spree stokes tax rise fears: Brits warned of looming increases as Rachel Reeves lays out 'unrealistic' spending plans TODAY

The Cabinet is signing off the spending review before the Chancellor announces the details in the Commons at lunchtime.

Events

4 d. ago Spending Review Live: Rachel Reeves unveils Labour's funding plans as SNP to receive funding fate

Live updates as Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her spending review.

Economics