Labour ploughs ahead with higher welfare spending October 31, 2025 The Labour government is backing higher welfare spending projections for the next five years, with plans to partially lift the two-child benefit cap set to add to the strain on public finances. An official statement from the government confirmed that the government would ditch planned savings to disability payments, which are formally known as personal [...]
Reform pledges £9bn welfare savings as Tories urged to apologise October 29, 2025 Reform UK has laid out a smaller savings package on disability payments than one planned by the Tories as opposition parties vie to gain credibility on welfare reform. Reform UK’s Lee Anderson, the party’s spokesman for welfare, set out plans on curbing personal independence payments (Pips) for under 25-year-olds and for people with “non-major anxiety”. [...]
Rachel Reeves set for £20bn OBR productivity downgrade October 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ ballooning fiscal black hole is set to deepen as the fiscal watchdog hands the Chancellor its final productivity forecast on Friday. The Treasury is already battling to contain public finances after a U-turn on welfare reforms ruined hopes of £5bn in savings, and a £190bn spending splurge on government departments helped erode the Chancellor’s wafer-thin [...]
Motability cuts? Rachel Reeves is taking British taxpayers for a ride October 24, 2025 Rachel Reeves pledge to reform the absurd Motability scheme essentially amounts to giving alcoholics Peugeots instead of a BMWs, says Jack Rankin As Rachel Reeves continues to take the scenic route to the next Budget, rumours are swirling that she is setting her sights on the Motability Scheme, hoping to claw back around £1bn in [...]
How to actually grow the economy October 23, 2025 In this special edition of The Week in Business, City AM Editor Christian May talks to Lord Matthew Elliott about his new book, co-authored with Dr Arthur Laffer, Douglas McWilliams and Lord Michael Hintze: Prosperity Through Growth – Boosting Living Standards in an Age of Autocracy and AI. The book is based on interviews with [...]
The axe will have to fall on Britain’s runaway public spending October 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves likes to insist that she will “never play fast and loose with the public finances.” It’s a phrase she deploys quite often, not least when it looks as if the bond market could do with a bit of reassurance, and it means that she won’t breach her “cast iron” fiscal rules. Adherence to [...]
Rachel Reeves’ growth policies scored by City AM October 20, 2025 As Rachel Reeves does her maths ahead of the 26 November Budget, she will hope that Labour’s policies have delivered enough growth to limit the number of tax hikes needed to restore her £9.9bn fiscal headroom. The fiscal black hole facing the Treasury could be between £20bn and £30bn due to higher borrowing costs, productivity [...]
Rachel Reeves gears up for £1bn savings in Motability October 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning a £1bn savings package through cuts to the Motability scheme offered to disabled people. As part of a drive to plug a £30bn hole in the public purse, the Chancellor is considering reducing the number of BMWs and Mercedes some disability claimants can access through the Motability scheme, which is [...]
OBR risks being ‘unreasonably pessimistic’ as Reeves set to be given leeway October 10, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) risks being “unreasonably pessimistic” if it decides to downgrade productivity growth trends by more than 0.1 percentage point, fresh analysis has indicated, in what could hand Chancellor Rachel Reeves some extra leeway at this year’s Budget. The fiscal watchdog is widely expected to downgrade productivity forecasts as part of [...]
Tories commit to £47bn savings package to ‘restore public finances’ October 6, 2025 The Tories have committed to making £47bn in savings across the welfare state and Whitehall to “ensure the country lives within our means”, in a radical pledge that aims to restore the beleaguered party’s reputation for fiscal responsibility. In a speech to Tory party members in Manchester on Monday, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride will claim [...]