The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, held the Spring Statement on 3 March 2026. The government has been keen to have only one tax event per year (the Budget) and so the Spring Statement was intended to provide an interim update on the economy and public finances.
Whilst the Chancellor did meet the commitment not to make major tax announcements, there was plenty to say on the economy more generally.
Looking back a year, the previous Statement focused on a commitment to increasing defence spending, cuts to the welfare state and economic growth. Over the last year, the majority of those cuts to welfare spending were not supported by backbench MPs and the economy has continued to grow slowly, so what did the Chancellor have to say a year on?
The strap line was that current policies mean that the government has the right economic plan for Britain. The Chancellor stated that the ‘…Spring Forecast has shown that the government’s economic plan to cut the cost of living, cut national debt and grow the economy, is the right one.’
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Shapcotts Spring Statement 2026 Summary (pdf)
March 4th, 2026
