Labour's 'Sabrina Carpenter' Budget

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

News, Politics, Government, Daily News

4.4 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This afternoon, Rachel Reeves made good on her promise to deliver only one fiscal set piece per calendar year by announcing what is widely being considered a Budget... this precedes a spending review in the summer and an actual Budget in the autumn. The headline is that the Chancellor had to find £15 billion in spending cuts to restore her headroom and keep within her own ‘ironclad’ fiscal rules. This comes after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) confirmed that the £9.9 billion margin she left herself in the autumn has disappeared. The OBR has also halved its growth projections – bleak news for the government.

Among the announcements: further welfare cuts after the OBR was not satisfied with the original package; some ‘final adjustments’ to Universal Credit, with the standard allowance rising from £92 per week in 2025–26 to £106 per week by 2029–30; around 10,000 civil service jobs are for the chop; defence spending will rise, at the expense of international aid; and a new target to reduce the cost of running government by 15 per cent. But what is most striking is the extent to which the government is now beholden to the OBR. Who is running this government? Can Labour deliver on growth?

Katy Balls speaks to Michael Gove and David Miles, member of the OBR's Budget Responsibility Committee.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This episode of Coffee House Shots is sponsored by Alliance Witten Investment Trust. From the OPEC
0:06.0	oil crisis of the 1970s, the financial crash in 2008, to the COVID epidemic and Liz Truss's
0:13.1	doomed premiership. There has been no shortage of economic crises over the last 58 years. And yet,
0:19.6	throughout that time, every single year, without fail,
0:22.8	we've paid out an increased dividend to our shareholders. In fact, Alliance Witten's history
0:28.3	dates all the way back to 1888. And today, we manage around £5 billion in assets.
0:35.5	If you're looking for a less stressful way to invest in stocks and shares,
0:39.2	learn more about Alliance Witten and find your comfort zone.
0:46.3	Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots and Spectators' Daily Politics Podcast. I'm Katie
0:51.3	Balls and I'm joined by Michael Gove and David Miles who's back with us again
0:55.3	for a fiscal event, member of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the OBR. Now we just had the
1:00.8	spring statement and let's listen to what Rachel Reeves had to say. Now our task is to secure
1:07.0	Britain's future in a world that is changing before our eyes. The threat facing our continent
1:13.7	was transformed when Putin invaded Ukraine. It has since escalated further and that continue to
1:22.1	evolve rapidly. At the same time, the global economy has become more uncertain, bringing insecurity at home as trading patterns become more unstable and borrowing costs rise for many major economies.
1:38.2	Michael, of course, this was not meant to be a big event. This was meant to be pretty run-of-the-mill.
1:43.2	Rachel Reeves wanted to be the case
1:44.6	that there was just a big budget every year and this would just be an update. But of course,
1:48.5	deteriorating conditions, raise borrowing costs meant that we had an inkling before she stood up,
1:54.8	that her headroom was gone. She confirmed that. But we just heard Rachel Reeves there
1:58.8	talking about how this isn't really her fault, it's
2:01.9	the changing world. Does it work?
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -4 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Spectator, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Spectator and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.