15 h. ago Rachel Reeves to announce review of workplace pensions contributions — here’s what it could mean

The chancellor will use her Mansion House speech to announce the overhaul

Economics

65 h. ago Keir Starmer set for major announcement after Rachel Reeves appeared tearful in PMQs

Keir Starmer is set to unveil a brand new 10-year plan for the NHS – despite his speech being focused on fixing the NHS he is expected to face numerous questions on his Chancellor Rachel Reeves

Politics

3 d. ago Welfare bill climbdown will have ‘a cost’ at budget, says senior minister

Pat McFadden says U-turn will change calculations, as IFS says tax rises in autumn look increasingly likelyUK politics live – latest updatesThere will be “a cost” to the government’s climbdown on welfare changes at the budget, one of Keir Starmer’s senior ministers has said, as a leading fiscal thinktank said new tax rises appeared increasingly likely.Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, defended Starmer and the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, after the second reading of the government’s main welfare bill passed its first Commons test only after a central element was removed. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Council spending on school transport for special needs pupils soars nearly 200pc to £2bn

A new report from the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals the 'huge pressures' on council budgets from a rise in special needs diagnoses.

Economics

8 d. ago What does the UK spend on welfare – and how much will it rise?

Spending on pensioners accounts for nearly half of the total welfare budget.

Economics

9 d. ago Council reports underspend at end of financial year despite continued pressures

Officers said the figure was boosted by Welsh Government grants that "significantly masks" underlying budget pressures

Economics

2 w. ago Rachel Reeves announces huge boost for crumbling schools, hospitals and courts

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced billions of pounds for crumbling schools, hospitals and courts after years of neglect

Events

2 w. ago Aim boss makes plea to boost market’s appeal after inheritance tax blow

Marcus Stuttard is urging the Government to help boost ‘financial incentives’ for Aim shares and for British pension funds to back UK stocks.

Economics

2 w. ago SNP Government names date for abolition of two child benefit cap in Scotland

EXCLUSIVE: Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville provided more details of a policy that was the centrepiece of the SNP Government's Budget.

Politics

3 w. 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

3 w. ago Finance convener calls on Scottish Government to ensure North Lanarkshire benefits from Chancellor’s spending review

Councillor Andrew Duffy-Lawson has urged the government at Holyrood to ensure that North Lanarkshire receives its fair share of the recently announced investment in Scottish public services as a result of the announcement from Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Politics

3 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

3 w. ago Government Spending Review 2025: Economy shrinks as NHS spending surges and struggling councils miss out

From a surprise economic slump and warnings of a “National Health State”, to council funding concerns, a 74 per cent house price surge, and rising Tesco sales - here are today’s top UK business stories.

Politics

3 w. 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 w. 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 w. 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 w. 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 w. ago Reeves pledges funds for northern rail but London left short | Spending review 2025

Reeves pledges funds for northern rail but London left short | Spending review 2025  The Guardian

Economics

3 w. ago Government’s £445m for railways in Wales branded ‘peanuts’ by Tories

The investment in Welsh rail announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her spending review will be spent on new stations and upgraded lines.

Economics

3 w. 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