The Latest Breaking News from OBR

The storm-battered chancellor needs her nextdoor neighbour to be a steadfast friend

Even if the UK manages to dodge the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs, we will still suffer from the fallout of a global trade war

The Guardian - UK · Mar 30, 2025

Who is running Britain’s economy – Rachel Reeves or Donald Trump?

The chancellor’s careful calculations for her spring statement are likely to be blown out of the water by a looming US trade war

The Guardian - UK · Mar 30, 2025

MPs to vote on disability benefit cuts without knowing ‘full impact’

Britain’s economic watchdog may not publish forecast of employment prospects until the end of October

The Guardian - UK · Mar 30, 2025

UK economy eked out growth at the end of 2024, figures confirm

This is unrevised from the ONS’s first estimate, confirming a picture of a sluggish economy over the second half of the year.

Evening Standard · Mar 28, 2025

New workers’ rights plan is anti-business and will harm growth, critics warn

Shadow business minister Lord Hunt of Wirral argued that Labour’s 299-page Employment Rights Bill should be called the Unemployment Bill.

Evening Standard · Mar 27, 2025

Is this the new austerity? What the numbers say

With the chancellor announcing around £4.8 billion of cuts to welfare spending over the next five years, Alicja Hagopian looks at whether the UK is returning to the austerity policies of ther 2010s

The Independent UK · Mar 27, 2025

No evidence Labour welfare cuts will get more people into work, OBR says

The spending watchdog’s says it was not provided with an analysis of how the reforms could boost employment

The Independent UK · Mar 27, 2025

David Blunkett: the world has changed since Liz Truss’s mini budget, so what is Labour still so scared of?

Much has been said about UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ self-imposed fiscal rules, and her repeated assertion – which she included in the spring statement – that they are “non-negotiable”. Of course, this is true if you’re not prepared to listen to alternatives, but in the real world there is no…

The Conversation · Mar 27, 2025

Labour won't rule out tax break for Trump-friendly tech giants amid tariff update

A minister has refused to rule out giving tech giants a tax break in a bid to exempt Britain from US tariffs – after Donald Trump announced new…

The National (Scotland) · Mar 27, 2025

UK government defends welfare cuts as economists warn 250,000 could fall into poverty

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose Labour Party has promised an end to austerity, unveiled billions of pounds of new cuts on Wednesday.

Euronews · Mar 27, 2025