What time is Rachel Reeves’ spring statement and how to watch it live?
Fiscal fanatics, pay attention – Rachel Reeves is preparing to make her spring statement in the House of Commons later today.
This is the second-most important economic announcement from the government of the year, behind only the budget in autumn.
Even though it won’t contain as many major new announcements as a budget, today’s statement is predicted to be a big moment in the first year of the Labour government.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out changing his government’s fiscal rules today, saying they’re needed to ‘stabilise the economy’.
But with growth staying stubbornly low, and international trade increasingly unpredictable, the Chancellor will likely need to find lots of money without raising taxes or relying on borrowing.
That could mean deep cuts to the budgets of many government departments, which are expected to be set out in today’s statement.
Here’s where you’ll be able to watch along at home.
What time is the spring statement?
The 2025 spring statement is expected to begin at around 12.30pm, immediately after the end of Prime Minister’s Questions.
How to watch live and what TV channels is it on?
Coverage of the spring statement can be found on BBC Two as part of a Politics Live special, while ITV1 will screen it as an ITV News special beginning at 12.15pm.
Sky News will also broadcast live coverage of the event.
If you prefer watching without any bells or whistles, you can also follow the spring statement on parliamentlive.tv
When will Rachel Reeves’ announcements come into effect?
Unlike last year’s budget, it’s not expected that major tax changes are likely to be announced tomorrow.
So there may not be that much to come into effect.
If she asks government departments to start tightening their belts, it’s likely that work will begin immediately to try and find savings.
And many of the measures that are likely to come up today have been announced in the past couple of days – such as a £2 billion boost to social and affordable housing, an increase in defence funding, the approval of the Lower Thames Crossing, and £1.6 billion for highway maintenance.
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