Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Labour denies it, but Reeves has brought back austerity
While slashing welfare and public services, Labour’s spring statement delivers a bonanza for death-dealing bomb merchants. We now see the true and terrible face of austerity 2.0, writes MICHAEL BURKE
Protesters show placards as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, March 26, 2025

WELFARE CUTS. Reductions in departmental spending. Job cuts in the public sector. But a boost to spending on the military.

These were the main elements of the Spring Statement delivered by the Chancellor.

Yet government ministers seem dismayed that they are accused of implementing austerity, pointing to rising spending in real terms. In reality, as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows, the average family will be £750 a year worse off by 2029, and 400,000 households will be pushed into poverty.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
‘NOT A GIMMICK’: Andy Burnham at the National Economic Council meeting at No 10 North in Heron House, central Manchester, July 24 2026
Features / 31 July 2026
31 July 2026

A sharp rise in public-sector investment is required to kick-start the economy, argues MICHAEL BURKE

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tours Palantir Technologies headquarters with company employees and British military personnel in Washington DC, February 27, 2025
Politics / 4 July 2026
4 July 2026

Only an ambitious programme of state-led investment can restore growth and improve living standards, argues MICHAEL BURKE

AGGRESSION: British troopers during training near the Russian border in Finland where Nato troops are taking part in Exercise Northern Star
Features / 30 May 2026
30 May 2026

The growing argument that welfare must be sacrificed for ‘security’ is built on nothing but myth, argues MICHAEL BURKE

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stands next to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as he acknowledges guests during a visit to the Benn Partnership Centre, a community centre in Rugby, Warwickshire, November 27, 2025
Features / 28 November 2025
28 November 2025

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