Spending wrangles in 2025 for Reeves

RACHEL Reeves will enter 2025 with the economy flatlining, inflation rising and a looming Whitehall spending review which experts warn will be "difficult".

The Chancellor believes the Government has taken tough decisions to get the public finances back on track and the benefits of public investment and planning reform will boost growth.

Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said her focus on investment was "commendable" and could deliver long-term benefits, but in the short term any failure to deliver growth could leave her facing more questions on tax and spending.

The latest Office for National Statistics figures have shown the economy contracting by 0.1% in October following a similar fall in September the first time gross domestic product has shrunk in two consecutive months since the pandemic hit in March and April 2020.