4 h. ago Reeves expected to freeze income tax thresholds to raise funds after welfare U

Government’s concessions over welfare cuts leave chancellor with a growing hole in her budgetRachel Reeves is expected to extend a freeze on income tax thresholds to raise fresh funds after the government’s U-turn on welfare cuts left her with a growing budget hole.The chancellor was already facing pressure to backtrack on pledges not to increase taxes further as she attempted to fix public services and grow the economy while meeting her fiscal rules. Continue reading...

Economics

4 h. ago Starmer ‘must hike taxes’ to plug £4.5bn black hole after welfare U

Sir Keir Starmer’s U-turn now leaves the government with a choice between raising taxes or cutting spending elsewhere

Economics

6 h. ago Reeves 'set to raise taxes' to fund Starmer benefits surrender: PM says he is 'pleased' after Labour revolt forces guarantee that NO

Keir Starmer claimed he had 'listened' in making major concessions to rebels threatening to kill flagship legislation on health and disability benefits.

Economics

7 h. ago Reeves expected to freeze income tax thresholds to raise fresh funds

Government’s U-turn on welfare cuts leaves chancellor with a growing hole in her budgetBusiness live – latest updatesRachel Reeves is expected to extend a freeze on income tax thresholds to raise fresh funds after the government’s U-turn on welfare cuts left her with a growing budget hole.The chancellor was already facing pressure to backtrack on pledges not to increase taxes further as she attempted to fix public services and grow the economy while meeting her fiscal rules. Continue reading...

Economics

9 h. ago Defeated team Starmer's fury at rebel 'pr**ks': PM benefits surrender triggers civil war that insiders claim could be the 'death knell of the party'

Tensions are running high after a massive revolt forced the PM to offer major concessions to salvage flagship legislation on health and disability benefits.

Events

10 h. ago How benefits will change after Starmer's surrender: All your questions answered as PM concedes to Labour rebels on welfare reforms

Brits who currently receive the personal independence payment (Pip) will continue to do so after the Government made concessions to Labour rebels on controversial welfare reforms.

Politics

13 h. ago Reeves 'set to raise taxes' to fund Starmer benefits surrender that will not strip ANYONE of their handouts and blows another hole in UK finances

Keir Starmer has handed major concessions to rebels in a desperate bid to salvage flagship legislation on health and disability benefits.

Economics

23 h. ago Starmer ‘agrees’ concessions with welfare cut rebels as he faces huge revolt

Economists warn tax rises could be needed to fund a U-Turn on Sir Keir Starmer’s £5bn welfare reforms as PM opens door to concessions

Politics

27 h. ago Tax rise warning as Starmer in talks on concessions with welfare cut rebels as he faces huge revolt

Economists warn tax rises could be needed to fund a U-Turn on Sir Keir Starmer’s £5bn welfare reforms as PM opens door to concessions

Events

33 h. ago Starmer on the brink of benefits humiliation: PM hints he WILL climb down with Labour rebels set to blow another hole in the government's finances

Keir Starmer said he wanted to 'make change together' as he scrambles to avoid a disastrous defeat in a crunch Commons vote on the flagship legislation.

Politics

3 d. ago Starmer leaves door open for tax rises to fund rise in defence spending

IFS director Paul Johnson warned that the £30bn increase in defence spending would need to be funded by tax rises

Economics

3 d. ago Keir Starmer won't say where £30BILLION A YEAR of extra defence cash will come from as he joins Nato summit vowing to hit target for spending 3.5% of GDP

Keir Starmer insisted the government will say 'precisely' how it will fund the goal of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence at a later stage.

Economics

5 d. ago MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Dogma cares little for the state of Britain's economy

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: This country's economy is now in serious peril. This is not only because the Government is nudging at the very outer limits of what it can raise in tax and borrowing.

Politics

7 d. ago Double trouble: can James Gunn really make two separate Batman movies work?

It’s suggested that the Gunn-produced The Brave and the Bold will be set within the DCU while Matt Reeves’s sequel to The Batman will exist as a DC Elseworlds storyThere was a time when having two Batmen in your cinematic universe would have felt like a clerical error. But in James Gunn’s brave and bold new DCU, having several Bruce Waynes is increasingly looking less like an irritating glitch and more like a deliberate choice.Gunn has been clear for some time that he sees no issue with two Caped Crusaders striding into multiplexes at the same time. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is down to the fact that Matt Reeves’s The Batman – an insular, noirish, Kurt Cobain-obsessed but relatively real-world take on the Dark Knight – proved pretty popular with audiences just prior to Gunn being handed the keys to the DC kingdom. But who am I to quibble? Sure, this might be a universe destined to feature cavalcades of superheroes who exist in a magical world of shimmering cosplay, but if...

Economics

7 d. ago Pressure grows on Reeves to raise taxes as borrowing hits £17.7bn in May

The borrowing was the highest on record for May outside the pandemic

Economics

1 week ago Reeves braced for OBR forecasts to blow £20bn hole in tax and spending plans

Downgrades by Treasury watchdog could force chancellor to raise taxes or cut spending at budget to meet fiscal rulesRachel Reeves is braced for revised forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to blow a £20bn hole in her tax and spending plans before the autumn budget.Even without changing the totals the chancellor set out in her spending review on Wednesday, a weaker forecast from the the Treasury’s independent watchdog could force her to find significantly more money at the budget to meet her “non-negotiable” fiscal rules. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago Rachel Reeves to announce £8BILLION over ten years to fix crumbling flood defences

Rachel Reeves (left) is set to announce nearly £8 billion for flood defences in a ten-year infrastructure pledge.

Economics

2 w. ago Reeves will be forced to raise taxes this autumn, economists predict

UK chancellor warned ‘something important may have to give’ to fill expected fiscal hole

Economics

2 w. 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

2 w. ago Voices: Yes, ‘Renewal’ Reeves needs to raise taxes – but how will she pull it off?

The chancellor’s fiscal headroom is already compromised by her commitment to tackle child poverty, writes Sean O’Grady. So she needs luck – and to be more boring than ever – to raise the revenue she desperately needs

Politics