Rachel Reeves addressed a packed House of Commons today to deliver her Spring Statement - which was met with short shrift from her political adversaries on the Left and the Right. The Chancellor announced a raft of spending cuts that she said would enable the Government to balance the books without raising taxes.
In particular, her changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) used by those with disabilities to support their daily living, has drawn the ire of disability campaigners and those on the Left of the Labour Party. While Mel Stride, the shadow Chancellor, blasted his opposite number over the halving of the UK's expected economic growth this year.
Express.co.uk walks you through the six bombshell announcements Ms Reeves made from the Despatch Box earlier today.
The Chancellor announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had halved its growth prediction for this year from 2% to 1%. She said she was "not satisfied with these numbers" and was heavily criticised by Mr Stride.
Not mincing his words, the MP for Central Devon said: "What the British people know is that this [reduced growth forecast] is a consequence of her choices. She is the architect of her own misfortune.
"She talked down the economy so that business confidence crashed through the floor. She coinfected a £22 billion blackhole - a smokescreen to cover up the fact they reneged on their promises to the British people at the last election." Such was the ferocity of Mr Stride's tirade, that the Speaker was forced to intervene and cool tensions in the chamber.
The Chancellor announced further welfare cuts to adhere to her fiscal rules.
The OBR found that the measures would save £4.8bn, rather than the £5bn initially set out by ministers. One of the landmark welfare spending cuts relates to the health element of Universal Credit – sometimes called incapacity benefits. It will be cut by 50% and frozen for new claimants.
In Whitehall, disability campaigners protested the move, holding placards with the message "welfare not warfare", in reference to the Government's plan to increase defence spending.
Following up on the Prime Minister's recent announcements about increased UK defence spending, the Chancellor told the House there would be a £2.2bn defence spending hike over the next year from April.
The cash injected will be spent on new high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, and refurbishing military family homes, among other things, she said.
The increased spending on defence will come as the foreign aid budget is slashed.
The Chancellor predicted that the Government's planning reforms, which will see 'grey belt' land used for development and mandatory housing targets reintroduced, will "help build over 1.3 million homes" over the next five years.
However, this remains below the Government's 1.5 million target set out in its manifesto. Notwithstanding expectations that the Government will miss its target by 200,000 homes, Ms Reeves boasted that the construction drive will create a "permanent" increase in GDP, according to the OBR.
"The OBR have today concluded that these reforms will permanently increase the level of real GDP by 0.2% by 2029-30, an additional £6.8bn in our economy and by 0.4% of GDP within the next 10 years an additional £15.1bn in our economy", she said.
Documents released alongside the Spring Statement included a Cash ISA saving limit of £20,000. In recent months there has been an expectation that the limit would be reduced to £4000 as the Treasury tried to encourage Brits to invest in Stocks and Shares ISAs. However, despite the "sigh of relief" caused by the retention of the £20,000 limit in today's documents, experts warn that the long-term future of the Cash ISA limit is still under threat.
Richard Fearon, chief executive of Leeds Building Society, said: "We remain concerned about the long-term threat of a reduction in cash ISA allowances.
"Reducing the amount which can be saved would have significant effects on savers, mortgage rates and wider aims to increase the size of the mutual sector.
"We will continue to make the case on behalf of our members for retaining the current rules, whether that comes as a single change or part of wider ISA reforms."
The Chancellor announced plans to reduce the size of the civil service to make the state "leaner and more agile". Her “Transformation Fund”, designed to reshape the public sector is meant to reduce the cost of running the Government by 15%, worth £2 billion, by the end of the decade.
“Voluntary exit schemes to reduce the size of the Civil Service” will be part of the £3.25 billion Transformation Fund, the Chancellor revealed.
