Spending review latest: Fears ‘staggering’ cuts may be required by Rachel Reeves – UK Times

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.

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.

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?

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.”

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:

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.