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August 29, 2025 37 mins

This week is the sixth and final episode in our series over Parliament’s summer recess, speaking to experts and looking at how Labour have performed in their first year in office in some of the big policy areas, and the biggest has been saved until last; the economy.


Fixing the country’s finances was their number one priority when Keir Starmer came into office last year, promising to kickstart economic growth after a decade of stagnation and austerity, followed by post-pandemic inflation and the chaotic fallout from the Liz Truss ‘mini-Budget’.


But after announcing there was a so-called £22billion ‘black hole’ in the country’s finances once she arrived in the Treasury, Rachel Reeves announced £40billion of tax increases in her first Budget as Chancellor, and despite saying it would be a ‘one off’, this year’s sluggish growth figures mean she finds herself in a similarly difficult position as she heads towards her second Budget this autumn.


So joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss how well the government has managed the economy after being handed an undoubtedly difficult inheritance, and whether they will chart a path towards economic growth this parliament, is Helen Miller, the new director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the UK’s most-respected economic think tank.



Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

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