Reeves 1) Chancellor denies eyeing past Conservative spending cuts in bid to balance her books
“Sir Keir Starmer fought the election promising no return to austerity, but his hunt for savings across all areas of government now sees him accused by his own side of similarly brutal cuts. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has a point when she claims that comparisons to George Osborne are unfair after a huge tax-and-spend budget last year. But so too do those in unprotected departments who say that unenviable options for cost-cutting give them a bad case of early 2010s déjà vu. If austerity ever had a meaning beyond a political attack line, it was twofold: to reduce the deficit, primarily though spending cuts, and to reduce the role of the government in the economy. Under Osborne, total public spending fell by an average 1.6 per cent a year in real terms. Reeves’s current plan has total spending rising by 1.3 per cent a year in real terms, and even with the cuts widely expected it will still rise by 1.1 per cent a year.” – The Times
- Rachel Reeves is looking for scapegoats and the OBR is an easy target – The Telegraph
- Reeves braces for her Spring Statement to be only the start of bad fiscal news – FT
- Reeves to put £2bn into affordable housing to ‘sweeten the pill’ of cuts – Guardian
- Rachel Reeves has a £15bn black hole to fill – The Times
- Ministers ordered to slash running costs by 15% to bail out Rachel Reeves – The i
- Reeves tipped for income tax betrayal as over 10m could be hit by move – Daily Express
- Taxing Times. More than 200k jobs will be lost & £14.9bn wiped from economy due to Labour’s tax raid on family firms, warns report – The Sun
- Union fury at Reeves’s Civil Service cuts that ‘risk chaos for frontline services’ – The i
Comment
Has Rachel Reeves begun to panic? Elliot Wilson CapX
Britain is going into reverse and only massive public sector spending cuts can save us – Editorial The Sun
>Today
For all the talk of “cuts” and “austerity” the state is becoming ever more profligate
Latest polling – Backing for Labour’s welfare cuts but doubts they’ll do it Lord Ashcroft
>Yesterday
DOGE is a blunt tool – but an increasingly popular one Alastair Masser
Reeves 2) Government looks at ways to soften impact of its digital tax on US tech groups
“The UK is working on options to soften the impact of its digital services tax on US technology companies to help secure a tariffs deal with the White House, after the Trump administration played hardball on the issue. The British government is open to a range of possibilities, including changes to the 2 per cent flat rate of the tax, and to its features, said people briefed on the discussions between the UK and US. The tax could continue to garner significant revenue for the Treasury even if some of its features changed, the people added. Such changes could include exempting some sectors from the levy, increasing the tax-free allowance on revenues to significantly above £25mn, or applying the tax to profits rather than revenues.” – FT
- UK could scrap ‘digital services tax’ on tech giants, Reeves hints – The Times
- X stands to benefit if UK pulls digital services tax in trade deal with US – Guardian
- AI is coming for accountants’ jobs, says Jeremy Hunt – The Times
Reeves 3) Minister distances herself from Chancellor’s concert ticket freebie
“A Cabinet minister brutally cut Rachel Reeves adrift over her Sabrina Carpenter freebie today. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander gave the Chancellor less than full-hearted backing after she admitted accepting gig tickets worth £600…Ms Alexander said she did not have ‘anything further to add’ to Ms Reeves explanation that she needed the perk for ‘security’ reasons. Asked on Times Radio if the freebie ‘felt right’, Ms Alexander said: ‘I haven’t taken any tickets to be honest since I was elected back in June as a new member of parliament and going straight into the Ministry of Justice and then coming straight into the Department for Transport. ‘I actually sadly haven’t been to see any concerts at all over the last nine months, partly because I’ve been very very busy.’Pressed on whether she would ever take tickets, Ms Alexander said: ‘I have never, as a member of parliament, I have never accepted tickets to any concerts or anything like that.’” – Daily Mail
- Minister ‘too busy for freebies’ amid Sabrina Carpenter row – The Times
Labour block attempt to stop green tech made by “slave labour” in net zero push
“Ed Miliband will overturn measures that would have barred companies found to have used forced labour from playing any part in the UK’s race to net zero. Many of the solar panels used in Britain, including on government buildings, come from China. The Xinjiang region produces between 35 per cent and 40 per cent of the world’s polysilicon, the key raw material for panels. Xinjiang is also where more than 2.6 million people, mostly from the Uighur ethnic group, have been subjected to forced labour in detention camps. An amendment tabled by Lord Alton of Liverpool, a crossbench peer, seeks to stop money being spent by state-owned Great British Energy on solar panels and other materials where there is “credible evidence of modern slavery” in supply chains. The House of Lords voted in favour of the amendment by 175 votes to 125 votes in February. However, the government will whip MPs to vote down the amendment.” The Times
- Labour to block bid to ban solar panels made by SLAVES – so Ed Miliband can put them on schools and hospitals – Daily Mail
- Ed Miliband accused of spearheading a ‘green transition built on slavery’ – The Sun
>Today
Large scale opposition to Chinese ‘Super’ Embassy next to the Tower of London
Shadow Home Sectary targets Labour over rising small boat arrivals and hotel costs
“Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper should “hang their heads in shame” over Labour’s asylum crisis, critics declared on Monday. A record number of migrants have crossed the Channel in the first three months of this year, with some 5,847 people detected on 106 small boats. And a Treasury document has revealed many are likely to be held in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms for years. But the Home Office faced fresh fury after documents detailed how the department has rejected “alternative housing solutions” because of their costs “despite being cheaper than current contingency hotels”. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “At the election, Labour promised to end the use of asylum hotels. In fact, there are now 8,500 more illegal immigrants in hotels than when they came into power. Labour has lost control of our borders, with a 28% increase in illegal immigrants crossing the channel since the election. So far, 2025 has been the worst year on record. It was a catastrophic mistake to cancel the Rwanda deterrent before it even started.” – Daily Express
- Channel migrant arrivals hits another record: 5,847 asylum seekers landed in UK in first three months of 2025 – up from previous high of 5,435 in same period last year – Daily Mail
- Bibby Stockholm firm replaces company running migrant hotels – The Times
Embarrassment in Washington as military plans are shared by Trump team in chat group with a journalist
“Donald Trump’s secret Houthi attack plans have been leaked after a journalist was mistakenly added to a private government group chat. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of the Atlantic magazine, revealed he was included in a messaging chain alongside Trump’s vice president JD Vance in the incredible security blunder. Several other senior members of the Trump administration were also included such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz. The messages are said to have discussed the strikes against the Houthi terror group in Yemen.” – The Sun
- Top US officials shared classified details of military strikes with journalist – FT
- White House security breach will have allies thinking twice about sharing secrets – The Telegraph
- Trump’s top secret war plans revealed in stunning blunder as journalist added to text chat with JD Vance – Daily Mail
- Outrage after White House accidentally texts journalist war plans: ‘Huge screw-up’ – Guardian
- Trump’s cabinet raged at ‘free-loading’ Europe in secret group chat – Daily Express
Comment
What Team Trump’s group chat error really revealed – Freddy Gray Spectator
Conservatives tipped to win a Mayoral race in May by Labour think tank
“Labour is on track to lose a key mayoral post in May’s local elections, a new poll has found in a potential blow for Sir Keir Starmer. The party unexpectedly won the election for Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough in 2021, a time when the Conservatives were still riding high under Boris Johnson. But a poll by the think tank Labour Together has found that at the next election on 1 May, the Tories are on course to defeat Labour. Such a result would come as a boost to Kemi Badenoch on a day when her party is expected to sustain major losses in council elections and Reform UK could pick up at least one mayoralty.” – The i
Starmer appoints Rishi Sunak’s wife as V&A trustee
“Rishi Sunak’s wife has been appointed a trustee at one of Britain’s leading museums by Sir Keir Starmer. Akshata Murty was confirmed by the Prime Minister as one of six new appointments at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which announced her appointment, said it was hoped she could bring her experience in both business and No 10 to the role. A spokesman added: “Akshata is passionate about education and the power of creativity to have positive effects on young people. With her husband, former prime minister Rishi Sunak, Akshata is a co-founder of The Richmond Project, a charity focused on enabling social mobility by breaking down barriers to numeracy. She is also a keen supporter of the UK’s veteran community.” – Daily Telegraph
News in Brief
- London businesses dismiss Chancellor’s growth hopes – Mauricio Alencar City AM
- Why Europe can’t defend itself – Wolfgang Munchau Unherd
- The Motability scheme is taking the British taxpayer for a ride – William Yarwood The Critic
- What modern Britain should learn from Charles I – Marcus Walker Spectator
