Reeves accused of balancing books on back of UK’s poorest
The panel
Will Rachel Reeves’s tough decisions pay off? Our panel on the spring statement
Polly Toynbee, Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Anna Landre, Jonathan Portes, Julia Davies, Mike Clancy and Fatima Ibrahim
What to expect from Rachel Reeves’s (brief) spring statement
Civil service to be told to slash more than £2bn a year from budget by 2030
UK must spend £1.5bn a year on flood defences to protect public, experts warn
Call it a defence levy or even a patriot tax – but Labour is going to have to raise taxes, fast
Gaby Hinsliff
UK drops down list of affluent nations after decade of stagnation, NIESR finds
No cash Isa shake-up in spring statement, but Reeves still considering cuts
HMV puts UK expansion on hold because of budget tax rises
‘Criminals will go unpunished’ after victim services cuts, Reeves warned
February 2025
Beales to close last store, blaming costs ‘foisted on us’ in Reeves’s budget
Poole shop to shut again only five years after it was revived following retail chain’s administration
UK economy on course for 1.5% expansion, NIESR predicts
Thinktank cautions Trump tariffs could blow hole in forecast, with 63% of UK firms exporting to US expecting to be hit
SNP avoids early election as it wins backing for budget at Holyrood
Scottish parliament supports minority government’s tax and spending plans after intensive negotiations
January 2025
If a Labour chancellor has to start cutting, keep calm. It’s not a betrayal
Phillip Inman
Rachel Reeves faces another anxious week of second-guessing the City
Nils Pratley on finance
Big retail will cope – but Reeves’ NICs raid is too much, too soon for part-timers
Nils Pratley
Rachel Reeves says she has ‘iron grip’ on finances as borrowing costs surge
December 2024
Treasury must focus on prevention in UK public spending, says report
Analysts say ‘measurable, lasting outcomes’ require long-term planning after Tory cuts of up to 78% in some cases
NHS patients at risk as hospital urgent repair costs triple in decade
Cost of maintenance backlog has increased dramatically since 2015 and health service lost 600 days of clinical time to related incidents in the past year
Shoe Zone blames tax rises in budget for decision to close some stores
Retailer hit by ‘challenging trading conditions’ and says wage and NIC changes made a number of shops ‘unviable’
