UK Politics

Rachel Reeves is gearing up for a major fight with trade unions who warn they will not stand by and allow a second age of austerity in the UK.With serious concerns that the chancellor plans a severe squeeze on departmental budgets to balance the books, union bosses fear a new round of pay freezes and thousands of job losses.In an ominous warning about a potential wave of strikes if pay demands are not met, one leading trade union leader, Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), told The Independent: “Workers struggling to afford the basics will not accept falling living standards from Labour.”Another senior trade union source at one of Britain’s largest trade unions also warned: “There’s a growing sense of tension, anger, despondency. The cuts that the government is talking about will affect workers and communities.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her spring statement on Wednesday More

Rachel Reeves is set to unveil billions of pounds worth of cuts in her spring statement, in what could be one of the most pivotal moments in her career. The chancellor had hoped her speech might be simply a straightforward update on the state of the country’s finances. But faltering economic growth and higher than expected borrowing figures, combined with her pledge not to raise taxes after her multi-billion pound raid in last year’s Budget, have raised the stakes.Here, we take a look at what she is expected to announce – and the political fault lines it could trigger. Benefits cuts Ms Reeves is set to cut the benefits bill by £5bn, as she scrambles to find savings to meet her own strict borrowing rules. Documents published alongside the spring statement will also for the first time reveal how many people are set to be affected, potentially reigniting a sharp backlash among Labour MPs. There is speculation that the expected one million people set to lose out will actually be closer to two million. That risks triggering an another outcry from Labour MPs, many of whom are already concerned that the party will be accused of balancing the books on the back of some of the poorest in society. There will also be scrutiny of the how much the axe will fall on Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which are not linked to work, but designed to help with extra costs incurred due to a disability. Others, however, have complained that the cuts do not go far enough, given the country’s spiralling welfare bill. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will deliver her spring statement on Wednesday (Anthony Devlin/PA) More

Donald Trump’s top team have been dubbed “unbelievably stupid” by Gordon Brown’s former national security adviser after a journalist was mistakenly added to a group chat outlining plans to strike the Houthis in Yemen.Lord West of Spithead, a retired admiral of the Royal Navy, told The Independent the incident was “absolutely extraordinary”, while former defence secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind described the incident as an “appalling breach of security”. Donald Trump gave the security adviser his backing despite the breach More

Rachel Reeves will soon give an update on her plans for the UK economy as she prepares to make the first Spring Statement of the new Labour government. The chancellor will also deliver an economic forecast as part of the event, with many predicting further spending cuts to come as the Treasury seeks to tackle ailing growth.Ms Reeves will make the statement on Wednesday 26 March. She had previously committed to one major economic event a year – the Budget – which usually comes in the Autumn. This is to “give families and businesses stability and certainty on tax and spending changes,” she says.This means there a no major policy announcements expected as part of the statement, although some have predicted that reduced spending targets and some key tax changes will be revealed.There have also been several big policy announcements in the run-up to the event. Last week, the government unveiled welfare reforms that will amount to £5 billion in spending cuts by 2029/30. The brunt of the cuts will fall on claimants of health-related benefits, with Universal Credit and the Personal Independence Payment both overhauled.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spring Statement on 26 March (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

An independent investigation has found “credible evidence of unlawful harassment of two women” by MP Rupert Lowe and his team, Reform UK has said. The probe by Jacqueline Perry KC was launched by the party after they received complaints from two women working in Mr Lowe’s offices, who complained of bullying from the MP himself and male members of staff. Mr Lowe, who has lost the Reform whip, has repeatedly denied the allegations and has claimed it is part of an attempt to smear his reputation. Rupert Lowe has criticised Reform’s leadership (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

‘Not appropriate’ for Reeves to accept Sabrina Carpenter tickets, minister saysOver three quarters of the British public would prefer to see the Chancellor implement higher taxes on the rich than cut public spending, a poll has found.One day before Rachel Reeves is due to deliver the spring statement, a YouGov poll has found that 78 per cent of people would back a 2 per cent wealth tax on people with assets worth more than £10 million.The survey of 2,257 people also found that 77 per cent would rather see higher taxes on the rich than cuts in public spending.Rachel Reeves has repeatedly said she will not budge from her fiscal rules, leading to mounting pressure over how to balance the books – by raising taxes or cutting spending.Another poll ahead of the statement on Wednesday has found Brits are increasingly pessimistic about the state of the economy.Some 58 per cent of people said they believe the economy is worsening, with just one in 10 believing growth was getting better, according to a survey by KPMG.Yougov poll reveals collapse in confidence in Labour’s handing of the economyRachel Reeves will stand up to deliver her sporting statement tomorrow with public confidence in her handling of the economy at a low after a failure to spark the growth she promised during the election.According to the findings 73 per cent of those surveyed by Yougov think Labour is doing a bad job with the economy. A mere 16 per cent think it is doing a good job.Half (53 per cent) say Rachel Reeves has done a bad job as chancellor – only 11 per cent view her performance positively.Four in ten (41 per cent believe the government taxes and spends too much, 23 per cent say it taxes and spends too little and 12% think they get the balance about right.Meanwhile, 56 per cent say the rich are not paying enough tax, suggesting wide support for a so-called wealth tax while 69 per cent say they would like the government to spend more on the NHS.David Maddox25 March 2025 14:43Pictures: Protesters interrupt Nigel Farage’s speech in Doncaster( More