Spending review 2025 – live: Rachel Reeves to unveil plans for £600bn budget

The Independent’s Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

Sir Keir Starmer has said he could “go on all morning” about Labour’s achievements in government – apparently forgetting that PMQs starts at midday.

The Independent’s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:

Campaigners have demanded wealth taxes outside parliament ahead of expected cuts in the Spending Review.

They include groups like Tax Justice UK and MPs such as Labour’s Rachael Maskell and the Greens Sian Berry and Adrian Ramsay.

Labour is under increasing pressure over the idea after unions, who are the party’s biggest financial advisers, piled pressure on Ms Reeves to adopt it at the weekend.

Polling commissioned by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed a majority the public (54 per cent) back taxes on big corporations and the most wealthy individuals as an alternative means of raising revenue.

Just 28 per cent oppose the move.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak warned ministers people were “fed up with a system where those with the broadest shoulders don’t pull their weight”.

The Independent’s Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Keir Starmer has accused the Conservative Party of having “learnt absolutely nothing” from the chaos of Liz Truss, saying the former prime minister is “haunting the Tories”.

It came after Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir’s government of failing to balance the books, saying: “This year the deficit is forecast to be £10bn higher since the budget.”

Responding, the prime minister said: “She stands there to lecture us. Liz Truss is obviously back in vogue, advising Reform, haunting the Tories… The leader of the opposition said that what was wrong with Liz Truss’s budget was not necessarily the package but the way it was sold. They’ve learnt absolutely nothing.”

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

Sir Keir Starmer must have hoped never to hear the words winter fuel again after the U-turn earlier this week.

But Kemi Badenoch is only too happy to pile in on the prime minister’s discomfort.

The questions about why the winter fuel payments to pensioners were unaffordable a year ago but affordable now when the economy is worse are not going to go away easily.

The wider issue though is whether the U-turn will be enough for voters to forgive Labour for chopping the benefit in the first place.Ms Badenoch is banking on them not being in a mood to forgive.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

There were a number of routes Kemi Badenoch could have taken in PMQs today but she has gone for the subject of the day – the economy.

With the spending review just half an hour away from being announced the Tory leader is focussing on job losses going up, inflation going up and debt going up.

Sir Keir Starmer’s answer is to revert back to the old chestnut of the Liz Truss mini budget.

Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch have clashed over the economy as PMQs gets underway.

Asking her first question, the Tory leader said inflation had doubled since Labour took office, and asked: “Is this what the PM meant when he tweeted the economy is improving?”

Sir Keir replied: “She’s fixated on talking Britain down. We’re investing in the future.”

Sir Keir Starmer is facing tough questions from the leader of the opposition as he begins this week’s PMQs.

Starmer kicked off the weekly session by wishing the speaker a happy birthday and acknowledging the anniversary of the Grenfell Tower.

Immediately after PMQs, the chancellor will deliver the highly-anticipated spending review. Where she will outline how much each department will receive of the government’s £600bn budget.

The Independent’s Politics Correspondent Mille Cooke reports:

Rachel Reeves is under pressure to impose wealth taxes ahead of the spending review, with campaigners accusing her of “betting the house on cash for infrastructure” whilst unveiling “another round of austerity for key services we all rely on”.

Aleema Shivji, interim executive director at Tax Justice UK warned the expected cuts to public services “would spell implausible consequences for areas like local social care, access to justice and social security”.

She added: “It’s great the government is stumping up the money for transport and house building – but by taxing the obscene levels of wealth of the super-rich more, it could also raise tens of billions to invest in revitalising other public services at the same time, in turn strengthening the economy.”