Fiscal drag to the rescue – but Healey still faces £35bn inflation headache Economics Soaring inflation could force the Chancellor to commit to more government spending and tax hikes, posing a worse Budget headache than a narrowing fiscal headroom, a top think tank has warned. John Healey might have to top up department budgets by as much as £35bn by the end of the decade to stop the real-terms [...]
Next boss Wolfson tells Healey: ‘You can’t spend your way out of a crisis’ Retail Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month’s Budget, warning, “you can’t spend your way out of a funding crisis”. The retail boss has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth. He told [...]
Haldane warns Burnham on ‘tax-and-spend socialists with better TikTok videos’ Economics Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that markets believe he is presiding over a “traditional tax and spend socialist government with better Tiktok videos”. Haldane, who advised Burnham before he returned to Westminster earlier this year, said the government’s “Achilles’ heel” was its inability to cut public [...]
Spending Review: Reeves piles billions into tech as firms cool on UK June 11, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves bet heavy on tech and innovation in her maiden Spending Review, in a week that saw a trio of tech firms depart from the London Stock Exchange. Reeves hiked research and development funding to a record high of £22.6bn per year by the end of the Spending Review period. She doubled down [...]
UK public spending will swell to more than half of GDP, IMF warns May 28, 2025 The British state will swell to more than half the total size of the UK economy under the government’s current plans, the International Monetary Fund has warned, as it sounded the alarm on “tough policy decisions” needed to meet ballooning spending. Total public expenditure is projected to grow by eight percentage points over the next [...]
Labour’s attempt to use AI to power budget cuts is damaging. Here’s why March 26, 2025 The UK government is beginning to introduce AI tools for deep research, framing the technology as a tool to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey announced on Tuesday that Rachel Reeves needs AI to ‘move the needle’ on economic growth. Yet, tying AI to Reeves’ budget cuts risks discouraging its [...]
Chancellor defends budget choices ahead of Spring statement March 23, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended the government’s recent budget decisions, claiming they were necessary for economic stability amid uncertain global conditions. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Reeves emphasised the importance of making difficult choices to ensure long term fiscal responsibility. “There are always going to be costs for every choice you [...]
UK government investment boosts growth more than private sector, study finds March 18, 2025 UK government investment is extremely efficient at boosting growth in the economy, despite results varying wildly across the globe, a new study has claimed. Every additional pound the government invests in the UK economy turns into £9.30 of additional output after 20 years, according to research from the University of Lisbon. This return, which averages [...]