The government will commit £39 billion over the next 10 years to fund affordable housing, in what it has billed as the biggest investment in a generation.
As part of her spending review, chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out plans to almost double annual investment in affordable homes to £4 billion by 2029/30, compared to £2.3 billion a year between 2021 and 2026.
The announcement is designed to help meet Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million homes by the time of the next election.
A government source said: “We’re turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation.”
The funding is expected to sit alongside previously announced plans, including £15.6 billion for transport upgrades in England’s city regions and £16.7 billion for new nuclear projects such as Sizewell C.
The chancellor is also expected to announce big increases in spending on the NHS, defence and schools as part of a spending review set to include £113 billion of investment thanks to looser borrowing rules.
Key Points
- Fears ‘staggering’ cuts may be required by Rachel Reeves
- Spending review to include decade-long plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes
- NHS unlikely to meet Starmer's waiting list pledge despite investment - report
- Analysis: Reeves’ spending review is not the end of Labour’s bitter civil war — it’s only the beginning
- Ministers accused of 'not coming clean' about full cost of Sizewell C
Government urged to disrupt ‘addictive grip’ of smartphones on children’s life
05:00
,
Namita Singh
The government is being urged to create child-friendly playful neighbourhoods and disrupt the "addictive grip" of smartphones on children's lives.
Closures of playgrounds, busier roads, shortened school break times and the dominance of screentime have restricted children's opportunities to play, a report has suggested.
Urgent action is needed to create more opportunities for children to play outdoors and away from digital devices and social media, according to a report by the Raising the Nation Play Commission inquiry.
It warned: "Too many of our children are spending their most precious years sedentary, doomscrolling on their phones and often alone, while their health and wellbeing deteriorates."
Key points announced ahead of Rachel Reeve’s spending review
04:59
,
Namita Singh
Rachel Reeves will set out her spending plans for the coming years today as she unveils her spending review.
The review, which will set out day-to-day spending plans for the next three years and capital spending plans for the next four, is expected to see boosts for the NHS, defence and schools.
But it is also likely to involve squeezes for other departments as the Chancellor seeks to keep within the fiscal rules she has set for herself.
Her room for manoeuvre has also been further constrained by the government's U-turn on winter fuel payments, which will see the benefit paid to pensioners receiving up to £35,000 per year at a cost of around £1.25 billion to the treasury.
The full details will be revealed in the Commons on Wednesday, but several announcements have already been made.
They include:
- £15.6 billion for public transport projects in England's city regions;
- £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, including £14.2 billion for the new Sizewell C power plant in Suffolk;
- £39 billion over the next 10 years to build affordable and social housing;
- An extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027;
- £445 million for upgrades to Welsh railways.
The chancellor is also expected to announce changes to the Treasury's "green book" rules that govern whether major projects are approved.The government hopes that changing the green book will make it easier to invest in areas outside London and the South East.
IFS warns of pressure on other departments as chancellor shields NHS, defence and schools
04:50
,
Jabed Ahmed
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline tight spending controls for most departments in a move likely to fuel concern over real-terms cuts.
While the NHS, education and defence are expected to see spending rises, other areas – including parts of the Home Office – are facing tighter budgets.
Policing is reportedly in line for a funding boost, but this could come at the expense of cuts elsewhere in the department.
Sources close to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan have voiced concerns that the capital is being overlooked in the review.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that raising NHS funding by more than 2.5 per cent could lead to further tax rises or cuts elsewhere in the autumn budget.
Despite the pressure, Ms Reeves will defend her choices, saying: “I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal.”
Labour’s fiscal rules remain in place, including its manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.
Chancellor to unveil £113bn investment plan targeting NHS, defence and schools
04:40
,
Jabed Ahmed
Rachel Reeves will unveil her long-awaited spending review on Wednesday, pledging to “invest in Britain’s renewal” through £113 billion of funding made possible by looser borrowing rules.
The chancellor is expected to outline major increases in public spending on the NHS, defence and education, arguing that the new investment is only possible because of the “stability” she introduced after the autumn budget.
“The priorities in this spending review are the priorities of working people,” Ms Reeves will say.
“To invest in our country’s security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.”
She will also announce reforms to the Treasury’s so-called “green book” – the rules that determine which areas receive public investment – in a bid to shift funding away from London and the South East and drive growth in other parts of the UK.
What is Rachel Reeves’ spending review and what might the chancellor announce?
04:30
,
Andy Gregory
Rachel Reeves will today make one of her biggest statements to MPs since Labour’s general election victory.
The chancellor will unveil the results of her line by line spending review, setting out the budgets of government departments until the end of the decade.
The review will be the first conducted by a Labour government since Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown’s comprehensive spending review in 2007. And it will see Ms Reeves walk the tightrope between delivering on the party’s election promises while seeking to squeeze within her self-imposed fiscal rules.
Our political correspondents Archie Mitchell and Millie Cooke have more details on what to expect here:
Spending review to include decade-long plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes
04:20
,
Jabed Ahmed
The government will commit £39 billion over the next 10 years to fund affordable housing, in what it has billed as the biggest investment in a generation.
As part of her spending review, chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out plans to almost double annual investment in affordable homes to £4 billion by 2029/30, compared to £2.3 billion a year between 2021 and 2026.
The announcement is designed to help meet Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million homes by the time of the next election.
A government source said: “We’re turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation.”
The funding is expected to sit alongside previously announced plans, including £15.6 billion for transport upgrades in England’s city regions and £16.7 billion for new nuclear projects such as Sizewell C.
United Nations experts call for Starmer’s Chagos deal to be suspended
04:10
,
Andy Gregory
Keir Starmer is facing humiliation on the international stage after experts at the United Nations called for his controversial deal with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands to be suspended.
UN special rapporteurs criticised the agreement – which hands back sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius and leases back the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia for £101m per year for 99 years – for failing to protect the rights of Chagossians.
Our political editor David Maddox reports:
Planning reforms ‘critical’ to 1.5m homes pledge delivery clear Commons
04:00
,
Andy Gregory
Flagship planning reforms which are "critical" to the delivery of Labour's pledge to build 1.5 million homes have cleared the Commons.
MPs voted by 306 to 174, majority 132, to approve the Planning and Infrastructure Bill at third reading on Tuesday evening.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the Bill, which aims to improve certainty and decision-making in the planning system, will help to tackle the UK's housing crisis.
Rhiannon James reports:
Tories also considered sanctioning Israeli ministers, says Dame Priti Patel
03:46
,
Andy Gregory
The last Conservative government also considered sanctioning Israeli ministers over the war in Gaza, Dame Priti Patel has said, after the UK government announced travel bans and asset freezes for two far-right members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
Speaking in the Commons, the shadow foreign secretary said: “The situation in the Middle East and the suffering we are seeing is serious and completely intolerable.
“We continue to see violence, deaths and casualties, and near aid distribution centres, which is simply incomprehensible and that should simply never happen.”
Dame Priti added: “The minister will be aware that the sanctioning of individuals is always under review, that is the right policy. And in the case of Israel, this has been previously considered even by Lord Cameron, who has spoken of that in the last government.”
Rachel Reeves set to keep bus fares capped at £3 until 2027
03:00
,
Andy Gregory
Rachel Reeves is set to extend the £3 cap on bus fares until 2027 when she unveils her spending review on Wednesday.
As first reported by The Mirror, the chancellor is understood to be preparing to announce an extension to the cap beyond the end of 2025.
Instead, it will continue across England until March 2027 as the government seeks to ease cost-of-living pressures on the public.
The government has previously said that, without the cap, fares could rise by as much as £12 for a journey between Leeds and Scarborough, or £5.50 for a ticket between Hull and York.
A Treasury source said: “We understand the cost of living is a priority for the British people. That is why we are investing in Britain's renewal to make working people better off.”
Comment | Wes Streeting has won the spending review – but will he blow his winnings?
02:00
,
Andy Gregory
Our chief political commentator John Rentoul writes:
If Rachel Reeves did the spending review like a game show, she could invite her cabinet colleagues to “come on down” the catwalk between the two red lines in the Commons, to music and strobe lights, to take their seats on the front bench.
She could announce the winners of the competition for public funding over the next three years in reverse order, with David Lammy, the foreign secretary – who has lost a big chunk of his foreign aid budget – going first, followed by Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, and Steve Reed, environment.
The last to be summoned, as the Abba soundtrack switches from “Money, Money, Money” to “The Winner Takes It All”, would be Wes Streeting, the health secretary, who has been allocated spending increases of 2.8 per cent a year more than inflation over the three years from next year to 2029.
Arms in the air, in a sequinned jacket, as glitter falls from the ceiling, Streeting would take his place next to John Healey, the defence secretary, at the top of the line of winners and losers.
Will Streeting, the lucky winner of the spending review showdown, be able to convince the voters that he has spent their money well?
Read the full analysis here:
'I've not got any peerages to give out': Farage defends Reform fundraising figures
01:00
,
Andy Gregory
Nigel Farage has defended his party after new figures showed they managed to raise less than half as much as the Conservative Party in donations in the first quarter of 2025.
Asked about the donation figures, which showed Reform raised £1.5m to the Tories’ £3.6m, the Reform leader accused Labour and the Conservatives of having relied on their ability to hand out peerages to bankroll their parties for decades.
He said: “Is it easy to raise big money in politics? It’s not ... because I have not got any peerages to give out. The honours system is corrupted beyond belief, we don’t have any gongs to give out.”
Mr Farage went on to stress he is confident he is building relationships with the donors Reform needs, while stressing that the bulk of its revenue comes from supporters giving between £25 and £50.
Read more in this report.
Tories hit out at Reform's 'fantasy approach to finances'
Wednesday 11 June 2025 00:00
,
Andy Gregory
The Tories hit out at Reform after new electoral data showed they raised less than half as much as the Conservatives in the first three months of the year, saying Nigel Farage’s party had “failed to secure the donations they claimed were coming” and had a “fantasy approach to finances”.
The Conservatives said Reform UK party sources in January “claimed a dinner in Mayfair had secured over £1m in pledges, yet there is no evidence in the latest Electoral Commission figures that support this”. According to the figures, Reform raised £1.5m compared with £3.6m raised by the Tories.
The Tories also pointed to figures which show 42 per cent of Reform UK’s donations during the three months rely on £613,000 from deputy leader Richard Tice’s company.
IFS warns of pressure on other departments as chancellor shields NHS, defence and schools
Tuesday 10 June 2025 23:31
,
Jabed Ahmed
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline tight spending controls for most departments in a move likely to fuel concern over real-terms cuts.
While the NHS, education and defence are expected to see spending rises, other areas – including parts of the Home Office – are facing tighter budgets.
Policing is reportedly in line for a funding boost, but this could come at the expense of cuts elsewhere in the department.
Sources close to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan have voiced concerns that the capital is being overlooked in the review.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that raising NHS funding by more than 2.5 per cent could lead to further tax rises or cuts elsewhere in the autumn budget.
Despite the pressure, Ms Reeves will defend her choices, saying: “I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal.”
Labour’s fiscal rules remain in place, including its manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.
Spending review to include decade-long plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes
Tuesday 10 June 2025 23:07
,
Jabed Ahmed
The government will commit £39 billion over the next 10 years to fund affordable housing, in what it has billed as the biggest investment in a generation.
As part of her spending review, chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out plans to almost double annual investment in affordable homes to £4 billion by 2029/30, compared to £2.3 billion a year between 2021 and 2026.
The announcement is designed to help meet Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million homes by the time of the next election.
A government source said: “We’re turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation.”
The funding is expected to sit alongside previously announced plans, including £15.6 billion for transport upgrades in England’s city regions and £16.7 billion for new nuclear projects such as Sizewell C.
NHS unlikely to meet Starmer's waiting list pledge despite investment - report
Tuesday 10 June 2025 23:04
,
Jabed Ahmed
The NHS is unlikely to meet Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to treat 92 per cent of patients within 18 weeks, despite a promised £30 billion budget boost, according to a report.
According to internal Department of Health modelling seen by The Times, the NHS is only on track to reach 80 per cent by the end of the parliament.
Officials told the newspaper the 92 per cent target is only achievable through “implausible” assumptions, including sharp drops in referrals and discouraging follow-up appointments.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to promise a real-term funding increase of 2.8 per cent annually – below the long-term average of 3.6 per cent on which NHS workforce plans are based.
The NHS is currently treating only 60 per cent of routine cases within 18 weeks, and there are doubts it will hit the interim goal of 65 per cent by next March, according to The Times.
With the waiting list at 7.4 million, NHS England believes it must fall below 4 million to meet the pledge – requiring a near-tripling of monthly reductions since Labour took office.
Farage in crisis as Tories raise twice as much as Reform in political donations
Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:58
,
Andy Gregory
The Conservatives have received twice as much money from donors as Reform in the first three months of this year, even as they sink in the polls.
The financial backing will come as a boost to the under-pressure Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, days after her party dropped to fourth place in a major poll.
Ms Badenoch’s party took in £3.4m, Reform £1.5m, Keir Starmer’s party £2.4m and the Liberal Democrats £1.5m, the Electoral Commission statistics show.
Read more in this report:
Chancellor to unveil £113bn investment plan targeting NHS, defence and schools
Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:42
,
Jabed Ahmed
Rachel Reeves will unveil her long-awaited spending review on Wednesday, pledging to “invest in Britain’s renewal” through £113 billion of funding made possible by looser borrowing rules.
The chancellor is expected to outline major increases in public spending on the NHS, defence and education, arguing that the new investment is only possible because of the “stability” she introduced after the autumn budget.
“The priorities in this spending review are the priorities of working people,” Ms Reeves will say.
“To invest in our country’s security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.”
She will also announce reforms to the Treasury’s so-called “green book” – the rules that determine which areas receive public investment – in a bid to shift funding away from London and the South East and drive growth in other parts of the UK.
Politics Explained | What would a Tory spending review look like? With Badenoch, nobody knows
Tuesday 10 June 2025 21:58
,
Andy Gregory
In our latest Politics Explained piece, The Independent’s associate editor Sean O’Grady writes:
It would be an exaggeration to claim the nation eagerly awaits the invention of “Badenomics” but Conservatives are certainly impatient with Kemi Badenoch’s apparent inability to create a narrative on the economy, land blows on a weakened Labour government, or compete with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on a key electoral issue.
This week’s Labour announcements on winter fuel payments and the spending review offer some prime opportunities to “punch through”.
And what do the Tories say about the spending review?
Badenoch’s line is that there would not be a black hole in public finances if they’d won the last election, and taxes would be lower. The latter part is true, but equally a hypothetical Tory government would now be imposing an even more painful squeeze on social security and public services, to the point where the numbers would simply not be credible, leading to strikes.
Voters sensed this unreality last July, and as time passes the Tories will have to come up with credible plans of their own rather than relying on Jeremy Hunt’s pre-election claims.
UN experts urge Starmer to suspend Chagos Islands deal
Tuesday 10 June 2025 20:57
,
PA
Sir Keir Starmer faces calls to suspend his deal handing the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius after UN experts criticised its treatment of the Chagossian people, reports Christopher McKeon.
The deal, agreed last month after long-running negotiations, returns sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, but will see the UK lease back a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
But a panel of experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said retaining the base and continuing to bar Chagossians from Diego Garcia "appears to be at variance with the Chagossians' right to return".
The Chagossians were expelled from the islands between 1965 and 1973 to make way for the joint UK-US base and have not been allowed to return.
Although the UK-Mauritius deal includes a £40 million trust fund for the benefit of the Chagossians, the UN experts expressed concern that this would not provide an "effective remedy" for the islanders.
They also criticised an apparent lack of consultation of the islanders prior to the deal, saying: "We are gravely concerned about the lack of meaningful participation of Chagossians in processes that have led to the agreement."
Watch: Rachel Reeves announces nine million pensioners to receive winter fuel payment
Tuesday 10 June 2025 19:58
,
Andy Gregory
Analysis: Reeves’ spending review is not the end of Labour’s bitter civil war — it’s only the beginning
Tuesday 10 June 2025 18:41
,
Athena Stavrou
Ongoing rows over cuts and economic policy will not go away with the announcement on Wednesday and will continue to fuel questions over the futures of Reeves and Starmer, says David Maddox.
David Bull: The doctor and former Most Haunted Live! presenter unveiled as new Reform UK chair
Tuesday 10 June 2025 18:17
,
Athena Stavrou
Dr David Bull has been unveiled as the new chairman of Reform UK after Zia Yusuf sensationally quit the role last week.
The former doctor, and former deputy chair of the party, is a popular figure among members and first joined Nigel Farage’s team when he became an MEP for the Brexit Party in 2019.
After the furore surrounding Mr Yusuf’s sudden departure as chairman of Reform - and subsequent return days later to run the party’s Donald Trump-inspired DOGE cost-slashing unit - Mr Farage needed a replacement to run the party who could act as an internal diplomat.
Read the full story:
Mapped: UK nuclear power stations
Tuesday 10 June 2025 17:52
,
Athena Stavrou
Why are the Sizewell C plans controversial?
Tuesday 10 June 2025 17:34
,
Athena Stavrou
There has been strong opposition against Sizewell C since it was announced by environmentalists who have argued the plans are “too slow”, and that it will impact the natural wildlife of the area.
Campaign groups Stop Sizewell C and Together Against Sizewell C both fear the plant could have negative effects and have demonstrated against the plans on several occasions.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have similarly protested against the impact on the local wildlife on the Sussex coast.
Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said ministers had not “come clean” about the full cost of the project, which the group have previously estimated could be some £40 billion.
“There still appears to be no final investment decision for Sizewell C, but £14.2 billion in taxpayers’ funding, a decision we condemn and firmly believe the government will come to regret.
“Where is the benefit for voters in ploughing more money into Sizewell C that could be spent on other priorities, and when the project will add to consumer bills and is guaranteed to be late and overspent just like Hinkley C?
Starmer insists winter fuel U-turn was due to economy stabilisation
Tuesday 10 June 2025 17:07
,
Athena Stavrou
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that the Government made its U-turn on the winter fuel allowance because the economy has stabilised, rather than in response to the backlash against the policy.
“We had to take difficult decisions in the budget; the economy was broken,” he told Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2.
But he cited recent growth figures and falling interest rates as proof that “the economy has stabilised”.
“I wanted to look again to see if we could increase eligibility to winter fuel for pensioners, and this week we’ve been able to set out the threshold for that.”
Asked to admit he panicked amid political pressure, the prime minister said: “No.”
“I knew the decision we were taking in the autumn of last year and why we had to take it, but I am really pleased we have now stabilised the economy.”
Comment: Is Rachel Reeves a toxic influence in the workplace?
Tuesday 10 June 2025 16:41
,
Athena Stavrou
The number of job vacancies has taken a tumble just as the unemployment rate hits a four-year high – which is exactly what happens when you make it more expensive to take people on, says James Moore:
Watch: 'We are making long term decisions for the future of the country' says Ed Miliband
Tuesday 10 June 2025 16:26
,
Athena Stavrou
How could Sizewell C contribute to the UK’s future energy system?
Tuesday 10 June 2025 15:54
,
Athena Stavrou
Sizewell C will power the equivalent of six million homes and is planned to be operation in the 2030s, the Government said.
It is also understood that the plant will generate electricity for 60 years.
The Treasury said that, combined with the ambition to build SMRs, it would deliver more new nuclear energy to the grid than over the previous half century by the 2030s.
It comes as nuclear plants are seen as increasingly important electricity sources as the Government tries to decarbonise Britain’s grid by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with green power.
The last time Britain completed one was in 1987, which was the Sizewell B plant.
Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, is under construction and is expected to produce enough power for about six million homes when it opens, but that may not be until 2031.
Sizewell C is part of the Government’s wider ambitions to support clean power, such as wind and solar, and decarbonise the country’s power grid to tackle the climate crisis and ensure future energy security.
Comment: The spending review will reveal how far the government has been blown off course
Tuesday 10 June 2025 15:35
,
Athena Stavrou
‘We are really going to suffer’: Residents’ dismay over nuclear plant investment
Tuesday 10 June 2025 15:00
,
Athena Stavrou
Residents, campaigners and organisations have expressed outrage after the Government allocated more than £14 billion towards building a nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast.
The plant is expected to provide 10,000 jobs but residents and campaign groups say it will damage wildlife and impact the community.
Jenny Kirtley, a resident from nearby Sibton who chairs the campaign group Together Against Sizewell C, arranged a demonstration against the development at the site last Saturday, which was attended by around 300 people.
“I have lived in this area on and off most of my life and have never seen anything like it,” she said.
“The devastation going on in this area is unbelievable.
“Net zero is supposed to happen by 2030 – there is no way this is going to be completed by then.
“Leiston has a population of fewer than 6,000: where are all these people going to stay?
“Rent is going sky-high at the moment – it’s absolutely ridiculous.
“We are really going to suffer.”
Fears ‘staggering’ cuts may be required by Rachel Reeves
Tuesday 10 June 2025 14:51
,
Athena Stavrou
Concerns have been raised that Rachel Reeves may have to make “staggering” cuts as a result of her spending review plans.
Experts have warned the chancellor will have to make £5 billion worth of cuts to ensure the spending plans are fulfilled - with areas such as housing, policing and border control expected to be affected.
The analysis, carried out by researchers at the House of Commons library commissioned by the Lib Dems, found that unprotected departments — which excludes NHS England, the core schools budget and defence — could see the real-terms cuts by 2028/29.
The Lib Dems said the scale of the expected cuts was “staggering”.
Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “After years of shameful Conservative neglect, it is household budgets and people relying on these services for vital support who are bearing the brunt.
“From social care to neighborhood policing, this Labour government is at risk of failing to deliver the change that people were promised.”
What is the spending review?
Tuesday 10 June 2025 14:38
,
Athena Stavrou
The chancellor will unveil the results of her line by line spending review, setting out the budgets of government departments until the end of the decade on Wednesday.
Rachel Reeves’ spending review has taken place in two parts, with phase one set out in her October Budget - which included £40 billion of tax hikes and set out departmental spending until 2026.
The second phase has seen departments ordered to set out how adopting technologies such as AI and reforming public services can free up government cash and support the delivery of Labour’s missions.
Wednesday’s review will set out day-to-day departmental spending for the next three years and investment spending for the next four.
Reeves has ruled out borrowing for day-to-day spending and has insisted she will not raise taxes again, prompting questions about how the policies will be funded and whether cuts will be made.
Pictured: Starmer talks to college students in Ipswich
Tuesday 10 June 2025 14:23
,
Athena Stavrou
Watch: Sizewell C nuclear plant to be built with £14.2bn government funding
