Join Katy Balls, Michael Gove, Lord Glasman, Lord Frost and pollster James Kanagasooriam as they unpack the highly anticipated Spring Statement and its implications for national policy and global security.

Listen for: Michael’s plan for how to deal with the Donald, and why the Treasury is not fit for purpose; Maurice on his influence in the White House, and what's wrong with the current political class; David’s reflections on why Brexit was ahead of its time; and James’s explanation for Britain’s lost sense of community.

It’s the morning after the afternoon before, and Rachel Reeves has just finished her broadcast round, where she has faced tough questions and negative splashes in the papers. The Daily Mail brands Reeves ‘deluded’, while the Daily Telegraph warns of ‘five years of record taxes’. The Guardian splashes with ‘Reeves accused of balancing books at expense of the poor’, while the Financial Times says, ‘Tax rise fears cloud Reeves’s fiscal fix’.

She is navigating two main issues: first, the additional welfare reforms have caused disquiet in the Labour Party, with a potential rebellion on the horizon; second, the conversation has already turned to whether she will have to return for further tax rises in the autumn. Meanwhile, her headroom is under threat once again following this morning’s news that Donald Trump will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imported cars. Can she keep the party – and the finances – in check?

Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Michael Simmons.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

For tickets to The Spectator’s Spring Statement special live Coffee House Shots, click here. 

Join Katy Balls, Michael Gove, Lord Glasman, Lord Frost and pollster James Kanagasooriam as they unpack the highly anticipated Spring Statement and its implications for national policy and global security.

Listen for: Michael’s plan for how to deal with the Donald, and why the Treasury is not fit for purpose; Maurice on his influence in the White House, and what's wrong with the current political class; David’s reflections on why Brexit was ahead of its time; and James’s explanation for Britain’s lost sense of community.

This afternoon, Rachel Reeves made good on her promise to deliver only one fiscal set piece per calendar year by announcing what is widely being considered a Budget... this precedes a spending review in the summer and an actual Budget in the autumn. The headline is that the Chancellor had to find £15 billion in spending cuts to restore her headroom and keep within her own ‘ironclad’ fiscal rules. This comes after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) confirmed that the £9.9 billion margin she left herself in the autumn has disappeared. The OBR has also halved its growth projections – bleak news for the government.

Among the announcements: further welfare cuts after the OBR was not satisfied with the original package; some ‘final adjustments’ to Universal Credit, with the standard allowance rising from £92 per week in 2025–26 to £106 per week by 2029–30; around 10,000 civil service jobs are for the chop; defence spending will rise, at the expense of international aid; and a new target to reduce the cost of running government by 15 per cent. But what is most striking is the extent to which the government is now beholden to the OBR. Who is running this government? Can Labour deliver on growth?

Katy Balls speaks to Michael Gove and David Miles, member of the OBR's Budget Responsibility Committee.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Hard hats on for the Spring Statement tomorrow, where at around midday Rachel Reeves will deliver her fiscal update (read: significant fiscal set piece). Aside from not spooking the markets, the Chancellor will be hoping that she doesn’t spook those within her own party.

There are rumours of discontent circling around Westminster about a potential Labour split. We have already seen secretaries of state briefing out their discontent over potential departmental cuts. Ministers have also been breaking rank this week to criticise Rachel Reeves for accepting free Sabrina Carpenter tickets. Can she keep the party united?

Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

For tickets to The Spectator's Spring Statement special live Coffee House Shots, click here. 

Reports in the papers today say that the British government is considering scrapping its digital services tax – largely levied at American tech companies – in return for an exemption to Trump's tariffs that come into effect on April 2. Would this be an effective – or desirable – move on the British part? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. 

Rachel Reeves defends her record as chancellor ahead of the Spring Statement, with pressure mounting over gloomy forecasts. Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper accuses Labour of losing their moral compass, Darren Jones is told Labour are 'anti-business', and Mel Stride attempts to justify Kemi Badenoch's assertion that the country's net-zero target is 'impossible'. 

On 23 March 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the unprecedented decision to put the UK into lockdown. To mark the 5th anniversary of that announcement this weekend, we have brought together our editor Michael Gove – then a cabinet minister under Boris – and our associate editor Toby Young – an ardent critic of the decision – to answer the question, was the government right to lock down?

Was the decision a necessary and reasonable health measure based on the available evidence at the time, or a significant and avoidable violation of civil liberties by a government that was meant to champion liberal freedoms? You decide.

Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

It's been Kemi-takes-action week for the Conservatives, with the leader of the opposition trying to prove that she can – in fact – do policy. She launched a series of policy reviews, which will be delivered in a steady stream between now and conference, with a headline statement on Net Zero, declaring that Britain’s 2050 emissions target was ‘impossible’. That went down well with the party, and many thought her announcement felt genuinely proactive rather than reactive.

After months of being criticised for not doing enough, is she finally shifting the dial? Will it be enough to avoid a local elections wipeout?

Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Paul Goodman.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

For tickets to next week's Spring Statement Coffee House Shots live, go to: www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouselive

It’s a big day in defence. Keir Starmer began the day in Barrow talking about nuclear subs and will end the day in a meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’ on the outskirts of London. But that coalition seems like it could be undermined by the European Commission’s decision to exclude non-EU arms makers from the bloc’s new €150 billion defence fund. Officials are keen to stress that this is not a done deal yet, but this would be a massive blow for the UK (and the US) and a big win for France. With Europe rearming, who stands to benefit? And what should we expect from the meeting of military officials later today?

Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Eliot Wilson, former clerk to the House of Commons, including on the Defence Committee.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.