Chancellor says tougher measures required to plug fiscal hole after Treasury watchdog halves 2025 growth forecastSpring statement: key pointsAnalysis: Reeves does reasonable job of justifying fiscal prudence but welfare cuts cast shadowRachel Reeves blamed “global uncertainty” as she announced swingeing cuts to welfare and other public spending designed to plug a fiscal hole caused by soaring borrowing costs and sluggish economic growth.The chancellor told the Commons that the UK’s growth forecast for this year had been halved from 2% to 1% by the Treasury watchdog, which concluded that the chancellor would have missed her goal of balancing the books if she did not act. Continue reading...