UK

Watch live as Rachel Reeves delivers her spring statement on the state of the UK economy on Wednesday, 26 March.The chancellor unveiled a 14bn package to repair finances that included cuts to welfare.Ms Reeves announced that the health element of universal credit will be cut in half for new claimants and then frozen. Elsewhere, the universal credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in 2025-26, to £106 per week by 2029-30. It had previously been expected to rise to £107 per week by that year.But this will come alongside a £1bn investment in helping people back into work, while the DWP will spend £400m ensuring the changes are delivered effectively.Ms Reeves also promised an extra £2.2bn will be spent on the UK’s defence over the next year.It comes after the UK’s budget watchdog warned last week’s reforms would save over £1bn less than forecast.An assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was that changes to disability and incapacity benefits will save £3.4bn in 2029/30 rather than the more than £5bn claimed by ministers.Alongside the statement, the government will release an impact assessment detailing how many people will be hit by the previously announced plans to cut the welfare bill. More

Rachel Reeves has outlined a fresh set of cuts to government spending without raising taxes, blaming a dramatic slowdown in growth.The chancellor faced a major setback in the hours before delivering her spring statement when the government’s official spending watchdog rejected its forecasts for how much its welfare cuts would save. That prompted the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to slash its economic growth forecast for this year from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. Having been forced to go further than expected to fall back within her self-imposed borrowing rules, Ms Reeves set out fresh measures to cut the government welfare bill.She promised changes were consistent with plans to cut the benefit bill announced last week, despite admitting the government was forced to make “final adjustments to the overall package”.The Independent looks at the key takeaways from what was meant to be a minor financial update, but turned into a major spring statement. Rachel Reeves was forced into major cuts due to the flatlining economy More

A furious row has broken out over the publishing of a report that found ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe harassed two women who worked in his office. The KC put in charge of investigating Mr Lowe has accused Nigel Farage and Reform of “reneging” over the agreement about when to publish her report into the Great Yarmouth MP.Jacqueline Perry, who is also Donald Trump’s lawyer, sent an email to Mr Lowe’s lawyer apologising for the way in which her report had been published early on Tuesday.She said: “I made it quite clear to the party that I had indicated a deadline to you of Wednesday the 26th and the report had been released entirely without my input in this at all. In fact, I was informed of this and surprised and disconcerted that the gun had been jumped.”Nigel Farage More

Welcome to an exclusive Ask Me Anything session with me, Andrew Grice, political commentator for The Independent.Keep scrolling for more. If you want to jump straight to the Q&A click here.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her first spring statement on Wednesday, setting out her economic plans for the UK. With spending cuts, potential tax changes, and shifts in government priorities on the table, this announcement will have a significant impact on households and businesses alike.Spending cuts are a major concern, with some Whitehall departments facing reductions of up to seven percent over four years. Recent welfare reforms will slash £5 billion from benefits, the steepest cuts since 2019, raising concerns over public services.Reeves may also extend the freeze on income tax thresholds beyond 2028. While not a direct tax hike, this would push more people into higher tax brackets due to “fiscal drag,” increasing their tax burden.Labour’s plan to boost defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027 is another contentious issue. The expected reallocation of international aid funds has drawn criticism from charities, while the move aligns with US pressure for stronger European defence commitments.So what will these changes mean for your finances? Will you end up paying more tax? How will spending cuts affect public services? And when will these policies come into force?Beyond the immediate economic impact, the political ramifications of this spring statement are also worth exploring. Does this signal a long-term shift in Labour’s economic approach under Reeves and Starmer? Is Labour positioning itself as the party of fiscal responsibility, even at the cost of traditional welfare commitments?If you have a question on the spring statement, submit it now, or when I join you live at 3pm on Thursday 27 March for the “Ask Me Anything” event.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join me live on this page at 3pm as I tackle as many questions as I can. More

Rachel Reeves is reportedly gearing up to make further cuts to the welfare system after the UK’s budget watchdog warned the reforms would save over £1bn less than forecast. The government said the sweeping cuts to welfare announced last week would save £5bn for the Treasury, but the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is said to have rejected the estimate, instead putting the savings at just £3.4bn. The row will leave a gaping hole in Treasury coffers, which the chancellor will need to fill if she is to stick to her rule of meeting day-to-day spending through tax receipts, rather than extra borrowing. Rachel Reeves insisted her fiscal rules were ‘non-negotiable’. (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

A senior UK government minister has condemned Israeli attacks against Palestinians that “cannot be justified as self-defence”, warning: “It has got to stop.”Speaking a week after Israel shattered a two-month ceasefire in Gaza with some of its deadliest strikes since the early months of the war, the UK health secretary Wes Streeting said he found Israel’s decision to do so “soul-destroying”.Gaza health authorities say nearly 700 people – mostly women and children – have been killed in the past week, with the reported Palestinian death toll now surpassing 50,000 since the war was sparked by Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023.Wes Streeting condemned Israel’s ‘soul-destroying’ decision to break a two-month ceasefire in Gaza last week More

Landmark reforms to legalise assisted dying have suffered a setback after the timeframe for their rollout was delayed by a further two years.Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which historically passed the Commons in November, proposed the extension until 2029 as backstop, as MPs vote on amendments to the legislation, which has already seen controversial changes.Ms Leadbeater said she was disappointed to propose the extension and acknowledged the “upset” felt by some supporters of the Bill, but said it was “more important to do this properly than to do it quickly”.In comments provided to media outlets, Ms Leadbeater’s spokesperson stressed the four-year limit was not a target, “it’s a backstop”.“Kim hopes and believes the service can be delivered more quickly if it becomes law later this year,” the spokesperson said.“The bill now contains even stronger safeguards than when it was first tabled, with a new judge-led voluntary assisted dying commission and multi-disciplinary panels to examine every application. These will inevitably take longer to implement.”Kim Leadbeater has acknowledged the “upset” felt by some supporters of the Bill More

Rachel Reeves will admit that “further and faster” action is needed to kickstart growth in the UK as she delivers her spring statement.The Chancellor will give an update on her plans for the UK economy on Wednesday, as she make the first spring statement of the new Labour government.Before the statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish its forecast on the UK economy, which is widely expected to slash its forecast for economic growth.As she addresses the Commons on Wednesday, Ms Reeves will acknowledge she needs to do more to bolster the economy as she outlines key changes.“Our task is to secure Britain’s future in a world that is changing before our eyes,” she will say.“The job of a responsible government is not simply to watch this change.“This moment demands an active government stepping up to secure Britain’s future. A government on the side of working people.“To grasp the opportunities that we now have and help Britain reach its full potential, we need to go further and faster to kickstart growth, protect national security and make people better off through our plan for change.”Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her spring statement on Wednesday More