Spring statement 2025 latest: Reeves refuses to rule out more cuts amid growing Labour backlash

Rachel Reeves jas appeared to reject an official assessment of her welfare reforms, and said she is “absolutely certain” people will not be pushed into poverty.

She told the Sky News: “I am absolutely certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work.

“And we know that if you move from welfare into work, you are much less likely to be in poverty.

“That is our ambition, making people better off, not making people worse off, and also the welfare state will always be there for people who genuinely need it.”

Welfare cuts from the chancellor’s spring budget will leave an estimated 250,000 more people, including 50,000 children, in relative poverty after housing costs across Great Britain by 2030, according to the government’s own impact assessment.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is attempting to “dig herself out” of a “massive hole of her own creation” through her spring statement, shadow chancellor Mel Stride has said.

Of the statement, Mr Stride told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “When she came to Parliament yesterday, of course, what she was doing was explaining how she was going to try and dig herself out of this massive hole of her own creation through taxing businesses and spending like there’s no tomorrow, putting up inflation, higher interest rates and all the consequences of that.

“Now, where the welfare debate therefore comes in, I think, is what you want to have done, actually, is to have got into office, had some serious principled welfare reform that would have made more savings, and be properly thought through with a proper plan.

“What you don’t want to do is what this government has done is to tank the economy and in order to try and desperately make the numbers add up, to suddenly rush around at the last minute and cobble together these savings in the way that she has.

“That’s not good for the taxpayer, and it’s also not fair to what are often a lot of very vulnerable people up and down the country.”

Rachel Reeves has denied there will be further tax rises or spending cuts at the autumn budget, but stopped short of ruling them out entirely.

Asked by Times Radio if it were the truth she would have to return at the autumn budget with more cuts or tax rises, the Chancellor said: “No, it’s not.”

Asked if this meant she could rule out these measures, Ms Reeves replied: “What I’m saying is that there are loads of things that this Government are doing that are contributing to growth.”

She pointed to planning reforms as an example, citing the Office for Budget Responsibility’s analysis this would add “£3.4 million pounds to our public finances” as a result of economic growth.

The Chancellor added: “That shows if we go further and faster on delivering economic growth with our planning reforms, with our pensions reforms, with our regulatory reforms, we can both grow the economy and have more money for our public services. And that is what I’m focused on.”

Asked if she would resign in the event she broke her own fiscal rules to avoid tax rises or further cuts, Ms Reeves told the broadcaster: “I’m not going to break my fiscal rules. I’ve said they are non-negotiable and we will continue to meet them.”

Last night, chief secretary to the treasury Darren Jones apologised for comparing disability benefits cuts to children’s pocket money.

Earlier on Wednesday, he told BBC Politics Live: “My understanding is what the impact assessment doesn’t account for is the benefit that you get from our additional money into support for training, skills or work.

“Take, for example, if I said to my kids, ‘I’m going to cut your pocket money by £10 per week, but you have to go and get a Saturday job’.

“The impact assessment on that basis would say that my kids were down £10, irrespective of how much money they get from their Saturday job.”

The government is in discussion with the US about what tariffs will mean for the UK, Rachel Reeves said.

Asked about Donald Trump’s latest announcement that car imports would be slapped with 25% tariffs, the Chancellor told Times Radio: “The Prime Minister went to Washington just a couple of weeks ago and met the US president, and we are now having extensive talks with our counterparts in the US to protect trade between our countries, those conversations will continue.

“Obviously the announcements of tariffs is something that the US plan to bring in next week, but we are in discussions about what that means for the UK.

“A million British people work for American firms. A million Americans work for British firms. Our two economies are so closely intertwined.

“I believe – and we make this case to the United States – that free trade, fair trade, is good for both of our countries, but let’s see where we get to in the next few days.”

Welcome to The Independent’s live politics coverage.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is on the morning media round for the government, following her spring budget on Wednesday.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride is on for the Conservatives.

We will bring you the latest lines right here.

Rachel Reeves has outlined a fresh set of cuts to government spending without raising taxes, blaming a dramatic slowdown in growth.

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Labour faces two major battles after the chancellor’s spring statement, writes Andrew Grice – keeping the UK economy on track while facing rebellion from MPs and the public.

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