Reeves welcomes growth figures as former No 10 adviser says taxes will have to rise in budget – UK politics live
Good morning. There is some good news for the government this morning. As Richard Partington reports, the UK economy grew by a bigger than forecast 0.7% in the first three months of the year, defying business warnings of a collapse in confidence ahead of Labour’s tax increases and Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
In a statement welcoming the figures, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said:
Today’s growth figures show the strength and potential of the UK economy.
In the first three months of the year, the UK economy has grown faster than the US, Canada, France, Italy and Germany.
Up against a backdrop of global uncertainty we are making the right choices now in the national interest.
Reeves mentioned the US, Canada, France, Italy and Germany for a reason. They are all G7 members, and one of Keir Starmer’s “five missions” announced before the election was for the UK to have the highest sustained growth in the G7. The figures for the other G7 nation, Japan, are not available yet, although they are likely to show the Japanese economy shrinking. It is only one quarter, but you can see why Reeves is keen to talk about this. She is giving interviews to broadcasters this morning.
But some of them may want to ask her about an article in the Times by Nick Williams, a former Treasury official who worked as an adviser to Keir Starmer on economic policy, and then on planning policy, from 2023 until last month. Williams says that Reeves will have to raise tax in the budget. He says:
While the government builds momentum behind growth, the path of public spending is just not credible.
Not to mend creaking local government. Not to tackle rampant crime. Not to meet the modern demands for defence. And certainly not to fill the fiscal hole from sharply cutting immigration.
The bottom line is that taxes will have to go up. There are ways this can be done which are fair and respect manifesto promises.
The next opportunity to do so is the autumn budget. This is also realistically the last opportunity to make a meaningful change that the public has time to feel before the next election.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is talking to broadcasters about the growth figures on a trip to Derbyshire.
9.30am: Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures.
9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly figures on prosecutions and convictions.
10am: Kemi Badenoch takes part in a Q&A with former Canadian PM Stephen Harper at the International Democracy Union meeting in Brussels.
After 10.30am: Lucy Powell, leader of the Commons, takes questions on next week’s Commons business.
11.20am: Keir Starmer is in Albania where he is due to hold a joint press conference with the prime minister, Edi Rama. Later he will visit British troops and their Albanian counterparts training Ukrainian soldiers.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Here is the agenda for the day.
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