Enough budgets already: Reeves must stop the squeeze and start making the tough decisions, says ALEX BRUMMER
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When is a Budget not a Budget? If this (highly unlikely) were a Christmas cracker teaser then the answer would presumably be: When you call it something else. Rachel Reeves says she will not hold a tax raising Budget in the spring but instead issue a statement to MPs alongside new fiscal forecasts.
But the Chancellor already has developed a reputation for dancing on pinheads, which doesn’t offer very much confidence. When Reeves delivered her ‘fixing the foundations’ statement on July 30 this year, with its amazing discovery of a £22billion black hole, she didn’t hesitate from slipping out ‘savings’ amounting to £5.5billion in the current fiscal year and £8.2billion in 2025-26.
This included axing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, cancelling plans for social care and axing up to £800million for AI research at the University of Edinburgh. What the Chancellor has not ruled out in the spring is a further squeeze on public spending should the Office for Budget Responsibility find her off course to hit fiscal targets.
Kicking the can: Rachel Reeves says she will not hold a tax raising Budget in the spring but instead issue a statement to MPs alongside new fiscal forecasts. That looks likely given data showing the economy stalling rather than expanding. Stumbling output means lower tax income, rising welfare bills and more borrowing. The March 26 statement to MPs may yet pre-empt a further public spending review promised for July.
