Bell Ribeiro-Addy: ‘The government must drop its devastating disability benefit cuts’
In recent weeks, I have been contacted by hundreds of constituents, angry and anxious about the government’s plans to cut disability benefits. These planned cuts would see millions denied Personal Independence Payments (PIPs), whilst Universal Credit top-ups are cut in real terms for new claimants and denied altogether to many young people. Scope has called […]
Week-in-Review: Spring statement looks set to restore sense of drift
Consider the context in which Labour’s fleeting political honeymoon came to an end last year. The parliamentary rebellions, the petty scandals, the inability to expound a compelling narrative, the contradictory messaging, the churn of noisy media controversy, the incessant hum of vituperative internal briefings — the unforced errors. Labour’s malfunctions exacted a heavy toll, as […]
Jack Rankin: ‘The British taxpayer will be forced to pick up the bill for Labour’s reckless choices’
Choices. They define a chancellor’s tenure at the helm of Britain’s economy. But a failure to understand the impacts of your choices, to the extent that was exposed in Rachel Reeves’ emergency budget on Wednesday, risks fiscal calamity. In October, the chancellor began her public spending spree with a multi-billion-pound, inflation-busting deal for her union […]
A Labour revolt over welfare cuts is brewing
Rachel Reeves was charged with the broadcast media round this morning, as she fielded questions and criticisms in the wake of her first spring statement as chancellor. The first wave of commentary has honed in on the government’s welfare reforms, the bulk of which were unveiled earlier this month by work and pensions secretary Liz […]
Lib Dems: Government must ‘toughen up’ on Trump with retaliatory Tesla tariffs
The government needs to “toughen up” and start placing retaliatory tariffs on US carmakers like Tesla, the Liberal Democrats have said. The party has urged ministers to place a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff on Elon Musk’s electric car company after the US announced that 25 per cent tariffs on all car imports will begin […]
Rachel Reeves ‘absolutely certain’ welfare cuts will not push more people into poverty
Rachel Reeves has appeared to reject her own government’s impact assessment of her welfare reforms, saying she is “absolutely certain” that the changes will not push more people into poverty. An official impact assessment from the government estimated the welfare cuts announced in the chancellor’s budget would leave 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, in relative […]
The spring statement lays bare the government’s failure to protect women and girls
A few weeks ago, the prime minister shocked even his own ministers by slashing the UK’s already depleted aid budget to just 0.3% of gross national income (GNI); far short of the 0.7% his party campaigned on. In protest, his international development minister Anneliese Dodds resigned. Today we have seen those cuts exacerbated and cemented […]
Jeremy Corbyn: ‘Heartless’ government has ‘gone further than even the Tories ever dared’
The Independent Alliance, a parliamentary faction of progressive, pro-Palestinian MPs, has issued a scathing statement condemning the government’s spring statement. The group, of which Jeremy Corbyn is the most senior member, accuses the chancellor of going “further than even the Tories ever dared”. The statement reads: “After 14 years of Conservative rule, we were told […]
Chancellor’s spring statement speech in full as growth forecast halved to 1 per cent
Rachel Reeves has presented her first highly-anticipated spring statement to the House of Commons. Addressing MPs, the chancellor announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic growth forecast for 2025 has been slashed from 2 per cent to 1 per cent, although GDP growth forecasts for future years have been upgraded. Read Reeves’ full speech […]
Spring statement: Rachel Reeves’ battles are far from over
Labour’s vow to set out only one major “fiscal event” a year, detailed in its election manifesto, was designed to serve as a definite signal of a new era: in the place of political chaos and fiscal unpredictability — symbolised by the rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss — stability would reign. No longer […]
