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£40bn tax rise (or, assuming that's a cash figure for 2029/30, c.£34bn ish in today's terms) is comparable to Lamont's 1993 Budget and much bigger than Brown and Osborne's first Budgets

Reeves cancels planned fuel duty rise next year - but presumably still assuming it will rise thereafter? Even though no chancellor has managed to do that since 2011...hmm...

Reeves says the government will increase day to day spending by 1.5% in 2025/26, up from previous plans of ~1.1% That's welcome, but maybe not as large as might be expected given tax increases Difficult decisions between depts remain, and may require cuts for some services

Reeves gives a nod to difficulties in local govt finance, with an additional £1.3bn of grant funding in 2025/26 That'd be a 2% cash terms increase in 2024/25 core spending power, before any announcements on council tax

The criminal justice system is the area that received least attention from Reeves Nothing announced alongside relatively large increases for the NHS and schools Local govt might also be feeling a little disappointed by the size of the uplift

More details on local government finances: - Core spending power to increase by 3.2% in real terms in 2025/26 - That's pretty much exactly in line with the average annual increase of 3.1% per year since 2019/20

Two charts that show this is a genuinely consequential budget that changes the direction on spending

Integrated settlements for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands for 2025/26 confirmed in today's budget - though exact funds tbc. The gov have also released new criteria for deciding which combined authorities will be next in line.

More details for what local govt can expect at the spending review: - Multi-year settlements - Reduction in the number of grants Both welcome, though neither will be a panacea Will be interesting if this year's LGFS is for 25/26 only

Yesterday's budget was big, not only for 2025/26, but also in setting the framework and processes for the multi-year spending review in the Spring. A brief thread 🧵

💻Missed our post-budget webinar? Watch back or listen to the full discussion between Jill Rutter Thomas Pope Giles Wilkes Stuart Hoddinott on what the budget announcement means for public services and the government's priorities 🎧Available here: instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel-r…

Rachel Reeves announced lots of changes to the fiscal rules and framework this week. There is lots to welcome here instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rachel…

What does the budget mean for local government? 📺Stuart Hoddinott says the chancellor's announcements are better than expected – but it's not going to make significant inroads in stabilising the sector. Watch or listen to the full discussion instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel-r…

NEW: Is NHS hospital productivity starting to rebound? Over the last few years, Ben Zaranko and I have written and talked a lot about the NHS productivity problem. In a new Institute for Fiscal Studies comment (with new colleague Olly Harvey-Rich) we look at productivity over the last year. 1/12

It was great to speak at IfG events public services conference on NHS reform or repair. The government reform agenda focuses on • hospital to community • analogue to digital • and sickness to prevention Watch the full event here 👇🏽 bit.ly/4fHsLvG

It was a privilege to virtually host Stuart Hoddinott in our A Level Politics lesson yesterday. He spoke about working in a Think Tank and the role IfG played in the recent Budget. It was truly enlightening and our students were completely engaged! Thank you!