Also in this newsletter, blossoming relations between Scottish government and Starmer’s administration
Removing winter fuel subsidies for all but the poorest pensioners, is the first of many tough choices, the chancellor has warned
Experts warn that public backing for development is essential in new government’s bid to end housing crisis
Westminster arrivals face stiff competition for staff as Tory-affiliated PR outfits offer to treble salaries
One hundred years on, the Zinoviev Letter illustrates how election results have deeper causes than disinformation
Tighter terms have been set out with some ‘olive branches’ to ease transition
Also in this newsletter, interest rate cut begs question of whether Sunak’s election timing was ill-judged, with questions for both parties
Also in this week’s newsletter: civil service headcount balloons
Knife-edge vote marks boost to Labour government’s promise to kick-start economic growth
The chancellor’s scrapping of social care plans shows how short-term tactics continue to let down the UK
No 10 has relinquished much of its fiscal firepower in settling rows over salaries
Macro cuts
Recriminations fly after Reeves’s claim of £22bn black hole
Chancellor embroiled in a row over how much Labour knew before the election about a hole in the public finances
Councils will not be able to reject developments on grounds of being ‘out of character’
Abandoning infrastructure projects and relying on risky revenue raisers could hamper Labour’s hopes to boost growth
Chancellor cuts winter fuel payments for better-off pensioners as she paves the way for Budget tax rises
Treasury acknowledges announcements will only go part of the way towards clamping down on 2024-25 overspend
Cuts to infrastructure projects cast doubt over Labour’s growth strategy
Treasury says tax will be applied to payments made from Monday on terms starting next year
Electrification of Rosebank field will be more ‘challenging’ under new government’s fiscal regime, says oil and gas chief
Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil the result of an audit of UK public spending, paving the way for tax rises
Sorting out worklessness is a challenge for Labour as a study in Barnsley says most of the economically inactive do want jobs
Party must improve public services to win over voters but tax promises place tough limits on what it can do
The town faces the same Nimbyism and conflicting attitudes towards the greenbelt that stifle much of the national debate
