Spending review LIVE: Reeves unveils £190bn public spending boost but faces questions over how to pay for it
11 June 2025, 09:21 | Updated: 11 June 2025, 15:53
Rachel Reeves has acknowledged that not enough people are feeling the progress Labour has made and said her spending review will be about “making working people better off”.
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The chancellor is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects on Wednesday, as she shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules.
But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues.
Read also: Rachel Reeves has a chance to pull millions of unpaid carers out of crisis - will she take it?
Sir Keir Starmer meanwhile rejected the idea that squeezed police budgets could make communities less safe.
The prime minister also said that the decision to reinstate most winter fuel payments was not a response to the backlash against the policy.
The Chancellor has committed £16.7 billion to nuclear power projects, including £14.2 billion of investment to build the new Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk.
Follow our live blog for all of the latest updates.
Key points from the spending review
Labour has pledged £190billion for the day to day running of public services, including a record £29billion for the NHS,
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government will also invest in AI, social housing and border control. There is investment in transport infrastructure and a four year settlement for Transport for London,
Ms Reeves has also announced that asylum hotels will not be in use by the end of the Parliament term,
- Labour is still facing questions, however, about how it will pay for this and finance experts have said there could be a tax rise in the autumn,
- Budgets are up 2.3% a year in real terms - compare that to austerity - they cut it in 2010 by 2.9% - lost decade for growth and living standards - that’s their legacy,
- Ms Reeves said that "tough decisions have been taken" and has hit out at both the previous Conservative governments and also Reform - who she said are "simply not serious."
Reeves pledges £190bn for public services
Rachel Reeves said her fiscal rules have allowed her to allocate £190 billion more to the day-to-day running of public services over the course of the spending review.
In a statement on the spending review, the Chancellor told the Commons: “My first rule is for stability, that day-to-day government spending should be paid for through tax receipts. That is the sound economic choice and it is also the fair choice, because it is not right to expect our children and future generations to pay for the services we rely on today.
“This first rule allows me as I set out in the budget to allocate £190 billion more to the day-to-day running of our public services over the course of the spending review, compared to the previous government’s plans.
“My second fiscal rule enables me to invest in Britain’s economic renewal while getting public debt on a downward path. This rule has allowed me to increase public investment by over £100 billion in the autumn, and a further £13 billion in the spring.
“Investment to rebuild our transport network, to rebuild our defence capability and to rebuild our energy security. In short, to grow our economy.”
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That concludes the blog for the day.
Thank you for reading.
Rachel Reeves’ choices today could spell recovery or disaster and during this century, the choice has never been starker
And the final word of the afternoon falls to Andrew Marr.
The broadcaster wrote for LBC that there is a 'stark' choice now facing the country after the spending summary.
"My point is really a very simple one – it’s so easy to get submerged and bored by the avalanche of numbers and uncheckable claims pouring out of Westminster on a day like this. But it’s really worth trying to pay attention," Andrew said.
Starmer refuses to rule out further tax rises amid winter fuel U-turn and £300bn spending pledge
Sir Keir Starmer failed to rule out more tax rises to fund the winter fuel allowance U-turn, as critics claim hikes are "inevitable" following the Government's Spending Review.
The Prime Minister was speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, before Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to splash the cash on the NHS and Net Zero.
The government's political rivals were keen to know how it planned to fund the extra £300billion it intends to allocate to these departments over the next five years.
Watch: Reaction to the spending review
From transport to teachers and housing to health: How Rachel Reeves' spending review affects you
Rachel Reeves has set out spending plans for the coming years with big boosts for the NHS, defence and schools as she said the UK was "starting to see the results" of Labour's efforts.
The spending review sets out day-to-day spending plans for the next three years and capital spending plans for the next four.
Changes to the Treasury's "green book" rules that govern whether major projects are approved are being published alongside the spending review.
Here is our breakdown of what it means for you.
Full article: Reeves vows to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by next election
Rachel Reeves has vowed to end its use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the next election.
Making the announcement as part of the Chancellor's spending review, Reeves revealed the Government will end the “costly” use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029.
As part of the spending review, funding of “up to £280 million more per year” was announced by the Chancellor to cover Border Security Command.
Danielle de Wolfe has the full story here.
TfL responds to spending review
Transport for London's commissioner has expressed his thanks after the spending review.
City mayor Sadiq Khan had expressed his disappointment that the review does not factor in other London infrastructure or projects.
Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “We are grateful that the Government has agreed a much-needed multi-year capital funding agreement similar to those in place with Network Rail and National Highways.
"This settlement will ensure that London’s transport network can continue to support new homes, jobs and economic growth in the capital. And it will boost jobs, skills, growth and opportunities across the UK.
"It will allow us to deliver a programme of sustainable investment, aligning our suppliers around a longer-term programme. And it will mean that we can complete the introduction of new trains on the Piccadilly line and DLR and new signalling on 40 per cent of the Tube, can procure a new tram fleet, progress discussions on new Bakerloo line trains and can get to work on renewing some of London’s critical roads, tunnels and flyovers.
"Our supply chain supports growth and opportunities right across the UK, with around two thirds of our suppliers based outside London, and nearly a third of our overall spend and resulting economic benefit felt outside of our city. We are pleased that, together with our suppliers, we can move on from the short-term and stop-start nature of funding over recent years and get on with the vital work of making our city and our country work for everyone."
Spend now tax later?
Responding to the spending review, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, has raised fears that higher taxes could be on the way.
He said: “We now know there is going to continue to be harsh austerity for taxpayers as they stare down the barrel of yet more devastating tax hikes in the Autumn, all to fund a profligate, wasteful and bloated public sector.
"Yet again politicians have failed to meet the challenge of fixing ballooning welfare bills and getting people back to work, meaning the inevitable fiscal crunch looms large.
“Spending has to be brought under control so that we can cut taxes and bring down the national debt - but that means politicians have to be on the side of taxpayers and businesses, which unfortunately very clearly isn't the case.”
Finance expert asks, 'How is it all going to be paid for?'
Reacting to the news, Greg Marsh, household finance expert and CEO ofNous.co, said: “Big pledges on housing and infrastructure will grab the headlines – but the real question is how all of this gets paid for.
"If the answer is stealth taxes, squeezed services or quietly hiking the cost of essentials, it’s ordinary families who’ll end up footing the bill.
"We’ve already seen years of financial pressure piled onto households, from spiralling energy and water bills to broadband and mobile contracts that rise mid-term with no real warning. And with inflation still lurking and wages stretched, people don’t have room for more silent raids on their bank accounts.
"The risk now is that without clear, fair funding strategies, this spending review could turn into a backdoor tax on the everyday lives of millions."
Reeves takes aim at Farage
Ms Reeves took aim at Nigel Farage during her spending review.
"Some of us are old enough to remember when he described Liz Truss' mini-budget as the best Conservative budget since the 1980s," she said.
