Andrew Grice

Rachel Reeves began that task today, in an important Commons statement in which she said the Treasury had found a £22bn black hole in this year’s Budget left by the outgoing Conservative government. The chancellor announced £5.5bn of cuts in the current financial year, and £8.1bn in the next. Her headline-grabber was to end winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners (those on pension credit or other means-tested benefits). She scrapped Tory plans to bring in a £86,000 cap for an individual’s lifetime social care costs, and a series of road and rail projects, while unfunded proposals for 40 “new hospitals”, originally promised by Boris Johnson, will be reviewed.

Starmer and Reeves admit they will raise taxes in her October Budget but insist it won’t hit ‘working people’ – which can be translated as ‘younger people,’ writes Andrew Grice. But playing the generation game is not without risk...

Political columnist Andrew Grice takes on your queries as the debate on electoral reform hots up following last month’s election results

The prime minister must not shy away from tackling the root causes of the unrest that swept across Britain last week, writes Andrew Grice

Why is the Starmer government so reluctant to talk about the root causes of the riots? Although Keir Starmer was quick to blame the violent disorder on “far-right thuggery”, I’m told Downing Street’s enquiries suggest that “there is more to this than right-wing extremists”.

Labour may have ended two marathon disputes with junior doctors and rail workers, which were a major headache for the Tories, but the government must be prepared to stand firm in the future to safeguard the economy and public services, writes Andrew Grice

A surprisingly steep increase in government borrowing – in its first month in office – has kiboshed any hope of the two-child benefit cap being abolished this autumn, says Andrew Grice. But the chancellor may have spotted a cunning fiscal ruse that could allow her an extra £16bn of headroom

A ritual dance takes place after every economic statistic is issued: regardless of the figures, Labour ministers complain about their economic inheritance, while the Conservatives insist they bequeathed an economy that had turned a corner.

As Sue Gray and Simon Case reportedly come to blows, the time has come for Starmer to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the key players in his new government, writes Andrew Grice

While all of the major polling companies picked the winning party, outlandish predictions of a 20-point lead failed to materialise, writes Andrew Grice – and may even have influenced voters