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BBC News
26-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rachel Reeves is in danger of being boxed in by her own rules
The story of this Spring Statement is that welfare has been cut back to make up for a notable rise in the cost of servicing the national debt. There is also a trim to the money being given to government is relatively little else actually happening in policy terms. There were no tax rises, no changes to Chancellor Rachel Reeves' borrowing rules and as expected, this was definitely not a real question now is whether the chancellor can escape from a never-ending cycle of microhaggling with the government's independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in this way, twice a year for the rest of the asked about whether new tax rises could now come in the Autumn like last year, she said emphatically: "We'll never have to do a Budget like that again."But the numbers are precarious and extremely sensitive to the economic and political changes around the the US imposes 20% tariffs on the UK next week, it could lead to a downgrade in UK growth and "wipe out" the £9.9bn headroom the chancellor has to meet her borrowing rule, the OBR chairman, Richard Hughes, told uncertainties include higher interest rates and lower UK productivity, he said, adding that "the risks are very elevated".That is why growth, confidence, and comprehensive economic strategy is so June there should be new plans for trade, industry and infrastructure. In the next few weeks, there could be an economic deal with the US, and the start of a Brexit reset with the the uncertainties, the OBR's judgement on the economy was better than had been expected. This year's growth was downgraded, but close to normal levels of growth are predicted to return in later years. Live: Follow the latest on the chancellor's announcementKey points from the Spring Statement at a glanceThree ways the Spring Statement could affect youTaxes could still rise despite welfare cuts, economists warnWatch: Henry Zeffman on what you need to 58 seconds Bob the Builder bet The OBR's acknowledgment that the government's planning reforms could significantly boost house building, was seen as a major win in Downing a policy that doesn't involve taxes or spending yet is expected to provide a huge boost to this stage this is not about an extra brick being laid or even planning approval, but it is a "spreadsheet win" that eased the chancellor's fiscal comes as a result of local authority housing targets and council land being freed the Planning and Infrastructure Bill passes later this year, which strips back judicial reviews, there should be a further increase in predicted the test is obviously actual spades and diggers in the ground and architects' plans being approved. This government is now all-in on Bob the was some accountancy-driven cunning. Lists of public defence-related spending up and down the UK came from the unconstrained capital budget for buildings, which is basically exempt from the chancellor's non-negotiable financial rule to only borrow to fund day to day the cuts to welfare are very real. The 250,000 increase in people in poverty due to the cuts to health-related benefits does not include the impact of recipients getting new jobs. The Impact Assessment seems to confirm that the aim of the policy is more about saving cash than fundamental reform. In this and in other areas questions arise about whether the "OBR tail wags the policy dog" - i.e. is this really the way long-term policy should be formed?The big picture is that all of this becomes a lot easier if growth returns and interest costs the dreams of Number 11, while we assume the debate in autumn will be about what further tax rises are required, it is possible that by the time of October's Budget, this could happen.
BBC News
29-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Andrew RT Davies: Ex-Tory leader warned over repeated rule breaches
The Conservatives' former leader in the Senedd has been warned he will be punished if he breaks the parliament's rules RT Davies has been told off for failing to declare an interest as a farmer while asking questions about inheritance tax for Welsh Parliament's Standards Committee decided not to take action against him, but said it had dealt with a "number of complaints" about Davies since the 2021 Senedd said being a farmer "is not something I've ever hidden" and he did not think he needed to declare an interest. A committee report says most complaints about Davies have been "relatively minor", but adds: "Repeated breaches, even of a minor nature, are a cause of concern for this committee and suggest a disregard for the decisions it makes."Should the committee find the member to have breached the code of conduct in future, the total number of breaches made by the member will be taken into consideration, which is likely to result in the recommendation of a sanction that reflects the totality of the breaches."The latest incident happened in November, while Davies was still Tory is a partner in a family farming business in the Vale of Glamorgan, but did not say so before asking about the agricultural inheritance tax hike in the UK government's South Wales Central MS told standards commissioner Douglas Bain, who investigates complaints: "It is no secret that I am a farmer" and said he had spoken publicly about the impact of the tax changes, including on his Bain wrote: "This was not an instance of an oversight by the member."He considered whether he was required to declare an interest and decided that he did not."I find it most surprising that an experienced member could have made that decision." 'Result of misinterpretation' The standards committee said failing to follow the rules was serious, but it was satisfied by Davies's explanation that it "was as a result of misinterpretation rather than seeking to purposefully conceal an interest".Its report also reminds MSs that the parliament's in-house rules – called standing orders – require them to announce any relevant interests before speaking and that they "should not assume that people outside of the Senedd are aware of their interests".The incident in November came a week after Eluned Morgan called on Davies to declare an interest while asking about the same topic in the was reprimanded by the standards watchdog last year for calling Wales' 20mph law a "blanket" speed January the Welsh Refugee Council said it was going to report Davies to the commissioner over social media comments. 'Not something I've hidden' Davies said: "I have frequently spoken publicly about the devastating impact Labour's policies will have on the Welsh agricultural industry, including on our own farm, as I did when I spoke to farmers protesting outside the Senedd last year."It's not something I've ever hidden, so I did not think declaring an interest was required. "However, I have no problem with doing so and will gladly do so in future. I am grateful to the standards commission for clarifying this point."
