Reeves’ £30bn treasure hunt
Political Fix31 Okt 2025

Reeves’ £30bn treasure hunt

With a month to go until the Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves needs to find a projected £30bn to balance the books. And the forecasts are not in her favour, with the OBR’s bigger than expected productivity downgrade dealing another blow to the Treasury this week. So where will the chancellor find the money – and if Labour have no choice but to break their manifesto tax pledge, where will that leave them with the electorate?


Host George Parker is joined by associate editor and columnist Stephen Bush, chief UK commentator Robert Shrimsley and the FT’s economics editor Sam Fleming.

Follow George: @georgewparker.bsky.social, @GeorgeWParker; Stephen at @stephenkb and Robert @robertshrimsley.bsky.social


Want more?


Reeves faces £20bn hit to public finances from productivity downgrade


Keir Starmer puts Labour MPs on notice for Budget tax rises


Starmer refuses to stand by manifesto tax pledge


Letting agent admits mistake in Reeves’ rental tax row


Sign up here for Stephen Bush's morning newsletter Inside Politics for straight-talking insight into the stories that matter, plus puns and tongue (mostly) in cheek analysis. Get 30 days free.


Plus, the FT is hosting a live webinar on November 28 on what the UK Budget will mean for your money. You can put questions to FT journalists Claer Barrett, Stuart Kirk, Tej Parikh and special guest, tax expert Dan Neidle. Get your free pass now at ft.com/budgetwebinar.


Our email address is politicalfix@ft.com


Political Fix was presented by George Parker and produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. The video engineers are Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.


Clip from BBC


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(586)

The mess in the NHS

The mess in the NHS

England’s NHS is in a ‘critical and deteriorating condition’ - those are the words of Lord Darzi who investigated the state of the NHS for the new Labour government last year. In response, Starmer unv...

22 Aug 202535min

Starmer's superpower: soft power?

Starmer's superpower: soft power?

Maga arrived in Chipping Norton this week, heralding an intense round of British diplomacy ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. Ukraine is top of the agenda and both Prime Minister Kei...

15 Aug 202527min

Introducing Swamp Notes: The real cost of gutting USAID

Introducing Swamp Notes: The real cost of gutting USAID

Political Fix is on a break this week. In its absence, we're taking the opportunity to introduce you to its sister podcast, Swamp Notes, the weekly US politics podcast from the Financial Times. Six mo...

8 Aug 202519min

Why Starmer changed his mind about Palestinian statehood

Why Starmer changed his mind about Palestinian statehood

Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly. The decision comes after some Labour MPs and cabinet ministers accused him of being too slow...

1 Aug 202535min

One year in opposition

One year in opposition

As MPs head back to their constituencies for the summer, the Political Fix panel reflects on the year in opposition for Kemi Badenoch and her Conservative party. Host George Parker is joined by Robert...

25 Jul 202534min

The Afghan files: the inside story on the catastrophic leak

The Afghan files: the inside story on the catastrophic leak

One of the gravest security lapses in UK history came to light this week after a judge lifted a superinjunction on a catastrophic data leak that could have affected 100,000 Afghans, as well as British...

18 Jul 202533min

Resetting Franco-British relations: the cross-channel contract

Resetting Franco-British relations: the cross-channel contract

Emmanuel Macron made his state visit to the UK this week – the first EU leader to do so since Brexit. It heralded a reset between France and Britain, dubbed the ‘entente amicale’ by King Charles. Macr...

11 Jul 202528min

A year of Keir

A year of Keir

This week marks a year of Keir Starmer’s government. But if Labour was expecting to celebrate the anniversary – it didn't pan out that way. Despite claiming a narrow victory with the contentious welfa...

4 Jul 202537min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
fotballpodden-2
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
hanna-de-heldige
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
frokostshowet-pa-p5
e24-podden