TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
NOW that the party conference season is over, the next major domestic political event is the Budget. Of course, everything is overshadowed by the ever-widening war being conducted by Israel, which effectively continues to have the full backing of the US and other Western powers, including Britain.
Judging by government rhetoric, it is extremely difficult to know what we should expect from Rachel Reeves’s first Budget at the end of the month. But the cliche that “actions speak louder than words” points strongly in the direction of more austerity. And, like most cliches, this one survives because it contains a kernel of truth.
It is a reasonable judgement to make that, in terms of PR, government economic policy is in disarray. A series of entirely different explanations for economic policy have been offered over the last 12 months.
A sharp rise in public-sector investment is required to kick-start the economy, argues MICHAEL BURKE
Only an ambitious programme of state-led investment can restore growth and improve living standards, argues MICHAEL BURKE
The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE


