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Labour denies it, but Reeves has brought back austerity
While slashing welfare and public services, Labour’s spring statement delivers a bonanza for death-dealing bomb merchants. We now see the true and terrible face of austerity 2.0, writes MICHAEL BURKE
Protesters show placards as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, March 26, 2025

WELFARE CUTS. Reductions in departmental spending. Job cuts in the public sector. But a boost to spending on the military.

These were the main elements of the Spring Statement delivered by the Chancellor.

Yet government ministers seem dismayed that they are accused of implementing austerity, pointing to rising spending in real terms. In reality, as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows, the average family will be £750 a year worse off by 2029, and 400,000 households will be pushed into poverty.

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