Any cuts to public services will be “almost certain” to damage performance, which is already struggling in the wake of a decade of austerity and the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has been warned...
The government has abandoned most of the measures in sacked chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini budget’ from September, with his replacement Jeremy Hunt calling stability the UK’s “most important...
Jeremy Hunt’s time as chancellor has begun with a government u-turn that appears to go against his own instincts, before he has made a single public statement.
Kwasi Kwarteng has become the second shortest-serving chancellor since the Victorian era, after resigning following weeks of disruption triggered by his package of unfunded tax cuts, with Jeremy Hunt...
Soaring inflation is likely to put two-thirds of the government’s missions outlined in the Levelling Up White Paper at risk of failure, academics have warned.
A senior Conservative MP has suggested the government should row back on more of the tax cuts outlined in last month’s Growth Plan to “reassure the markets” after weeks of turbulence.
Ministers are set to introduce a cap on renewable energy revenues, aiming to “reduce the impact of unprecedented wholesale prices on consumers” in a move labelled a windfall tax by Labour.
An Office for Budget Responsibility forecast will be published this month as the chancellor listens to calls not to delay its publication until he announces his medium-term fiscal plan in late...
The public sector could be set for an exodus of workers if the government fails to compensate departments for higher-than-expected pay offers, according to economists at the Institute for Fiscal...
Income tax bands not rising in line with inflation will eclipse the benefit households might expect from tax cuts, meaning the government is effectively “giving with one hand and taking with the...
The “large and unfunded fiscal package” announced by Kwasi Kwarteng last month has been cited as one of the main reasons ratings agency Fitch cut its outlook for the UK’s credit rating to “negative...
People on benefits face “crushing poverty” if payments are not increased in line with inflation, Kwasi Kwarteng has been told, amid concerns the government could refuse to do so.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s hastily rewritten speech at the Conservative Party conference was packed with mentions of growth and the need to bring down the UK tax burden, but commentators have expressed concern...
Cash-strapped services are fighting back after years of cost-shunting by the big Whitehall departments. With few signs of entente cordiale, who loses most?
The Treasury has said the forecast it will receive from the Office for Budget Responsibility in October will not be published until late November, resisting calls to release it earlier in an attempt...
The government is likely to make tens of billions of pounds of spending cuts in the next few years to meet its fiscal targets, following its market-spooking package of tax cuts, a panel at a think-...
The government’s ‘Growth Plan’ risks weakening public finances, worsening inequality and leading to the Bank of England aggressively raising interest rates, major international institutions have...
Council leaders have urged the government to “redouble” efforts to improve insulation and retrofit homes to increase fuel efficiency, saying new energy support measures will cost billions more than...