Kiran Stacey

Leasehold ‘wild west’ under scrutiny as minister criticises FirstPort’s fees and failures Exclusive: Senior minister raises ‘significant concerns’ over one of UK’s biggest property managers

EXC: Minister takes aim at the country's largest leasehold management company as the government prepares to almost entirely scrap the system altogether.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

This post by @samfr.bsky.social on the new book by @robfordmancs.bsky.social, @timbale.bsky.social, @drjennings.bsky.social and @psurridge.bsky.social is as good as everyone says.

Especially this point busting the myth of the Red Wall and the "hero voter".

samf.substack.com/p/six-lesson...

**FT GRAD SCHEME**

applications are now open. Incredible opportunity for young wannabe hacks. Spread the word:

job-boards.greenhouse.io/financialtim...

Even more reason to tune into this week's episode of our Politics Weekly podcast, which goes into this affair in depth:

t.co/LOxNz4KCEA

BREAKING: Richard Hughes resigns as head of the OBR.

obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...

Can Keir Starmer save Rachel Reeves? – podcast Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss whether the prime minister’s speech can deflect attention away from his embattled chancellor. Plus: chaos at Your Party’s first conference

What were journalists told about the budget and when? @pippacrerar.bsky.social reveal all in this week's episode of Politics Weekly.

Also featuring bonus Your Party content.

www.theguardian.com/politics/aud...

Britain’s tax system combines the worst of the US and Scandinavia The UK’s experiment in eating the rich while shrinking the state has left everyone worse off

Ah did I say wealth? It should have been income. Apologies - perils of recording in a rush! But here you go:

on.ft.com/4p7wFTM

The budget: Labour’s big tax and spend gamble – podcast John Harris, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey give their reactions to the chancellor’s autumn budget

Rachel Reeves gambles on tax and spend. But has she forgotten the "squeezed middle"?

Listen to me, @pippacrerar.bsky.social and @johnharris1969.bsky.social chew over today's budget here.

www.theguardian.com/politics/aud...

Not to be pernickety here, but didn't the chancellor make a mistake with her very first word of the budget (and several times afterwards)?

If you're wondering how relations are between the govt and the OBR after this morning's budget leak, a govt source has just sent this out about the EV tax.

Rachel Reeves can count herself (at least a bit) lucky. OBR productivity downgrade would have knocked £16 billion off tax receipts. But she was saved by £32 billion of *extra* receipts from higher inflation and a shift to more tax-rich growth (lower profits, higher wages).

Grist to @jim.londoncentric.media’s theory that this will never happen:

The govt has timed its pension tax rise so it will have almost all its impact in the vital final year of the fiscal forecast.

As expected, and as the IMF recommended, Reeves says the OBR will now only assess the public finances against the fiscal rules once a year, at the Budget - to avoid the kind of mad scramble ahead of the Spring statement that led to the botched welfare reforms.

Maximum chaos. Reasonable assumption.

Problem is, there isn't a budget before then...

💥 Govt says fuel duty to *go up* from next September.

In the past the OBR has assumed that fuel duty would start to rise after a one-year freeze.

This time, the govt has said explicitly that it will only be frozen for five months, and will start increasing it after that.

Public service journalism for anyone on a salary sacrifice pension scheme...

Here is the smorgasbord in full. Removing tax benefits from salary sacrifice pension schemes raises a whopping £4.7bn.

No benefit for anyone with two children or fewer!

Just those with more than two

Removing the two-child benefit cap will cost £3bn and the average benefit to families will be £5,450 a year.

Government's employment support scheme will not make any difference to growth, says the OBR.

Absolutely extraordinary - this seems to be the OBR's entire economic outlook, posted half an hour before the chancelor stands up:

obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...

Rachel Reeves decides against cutting VAT on energy bills in Budget Chancellor expected to continue with support package for households, including easing of electricity costs

Great story by @pickardje.bsky.social and @rachelmillard.bsky.social

Rachel Reeves drops a plan to remove VAT from energy bills, decides only to remove levies. Makes it much cheaper for the govt, but limits how much will be knocked off bills.

www.ft.com/content/82f0...

iNHouse on X: "It's time to reveal the shortlist for the Political Podcast Awards 2026 🎉 Sponsored by YouTube #PoliticalPodcastAwards https://t.co/YVG9tQBaaW" / X It's time to reveal the shortlist for the Political Podcast Awards 2026 🎉 Sponsored by YouTube #PoliticalPodcastAwards https://t.co/YVG9tQBaaW

Very nice that our podcast has been nominated for two of these awards.

Well done to the brilliant team including @pippacrerar.bsky.social @johnharris1969.bsky.social @zoehitch.bsky.social @frankietobi.bsky.social and Maz Ebtehaj.

x.com/iNHouseComms...

Yes! Should have gone with this

The only thing that can defeat parliament’s new extra high security fence.

To all the people who love to explain that this is not in fact a make or break budget, you're wrong.

Hopefully this week's episode will show why.

Yes, it's the latest Politics Weekly UK, a rich & questioning chatfest with me, @kiranstacey.bsky.social, @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social & @rafaelbehr.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...

BREAKING: UK defence secretary says a Russian spy ship called Yantar has entered British waters off the Scottish coast and is mapping undersea cables.

"If the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready."