Spring Statement live updates: Rachel Reeves to unveil brutal welfare cuts as poll reveals damning verdict on Labour's handling of economy

Spring Statement live updates: Rachel Reeves to unveil brutal welfare cuts as poll reveals damning verdict on Labour’s handling of economy

Published on: March 26, 2025

By JAMIE BULLEN and JAMES TAPSFIELD and DAVID WILCOCK and GREG HEFFER and SIMON LAMBERT FOR THIS IS MONEY

Updated: 08:41 GMT, 26 March 2025

Rachel Reeves is expected to make swingeing welfare cuts today in her Spring Statement as she scrambles for savings to help balance the nation’s books.

The beleaguered Chancellor will publish official forecasts this afternoon showing the outlook for economic growth has halved to around 1 per cent amid fears living standards could stagnate for the rest of the decade.

In a thinly veiled swipe at Donald Trump, the Chancellor last night tried to blame global challenges for the British economy’s stuttering performance on her watch.

However, a damaging poll reveals most voters no longer believe the Chancellor’s economic claims – and are increasingly blaming her for the country’s financial woes.

Live updates below

Preview: What could Chancellor announce in Spring Statement and will taxes increase?

The Chancellor had committed to holding only one budget a year, in the autumn, with the Spring Statement an update on the economy.

However, the changing economic and geopolitical backdrop means that Reeves’ fiscal headroom has been wiped out.

The Treasury has already announced wide-ranging cuts in a bid to recoup some of the fiscal headroom lost to higher debt interest forecasts.

Read our preview from our This Is Money reporter Angharad Carrick:

Rachel Reeves to deliver Spring Statement

A view of the door to 11 Downing Street, London, the residence of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who will deliver her spring statement to MPs in the House of Commons later this afternoon. Picture date: Wednesday March 26, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire

Hello and welcome to MailOnline and This Is Money’s live coverage of the Spring Statement as Rachel Reeves unveils spending cuts in an attempt to balance the books.

The beleaguered Chancellor will publish official forecasts this afternoon showing the outlook for economic growth has halved to around 1 per cent.

Following her controversial tax-raising Budget in October, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is also expected to warn living standards are set to stagnate for the rest of the decade.

The gloomy forecasts put Ms Reeves on course to break her own ‘fiscal rules’ and unveil £15billion in cuts, triggering a Labour backlash over whether she is pursuing austerity.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest news, reaction and analysis from our reporters in Westminster and the This Is Money team.