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At first glance, Rachel Reeves’s inaugural spending review as Chancellor may appear to be a breath of fresh air.
With £200 billion of investment announced across housing, transport, green energy, and science, it looks — finally — like we may be seeing an end to the long, grey grip of austerity.
But you don’t want to be fooled by the headlines.
What we’ve actually been given is a cleverly marketed piece of fiscal theatre: Keynesian in style (apparently advocating government spending and investment to boost demand and manage economic cycles, especially during downturns), but neoliberal in substance (favouring free markets, privatisation, deregulation, and reduced government spending on public services).
There are bright spots, to be sure. This is not the Thatcherite continuation we feared.
But it falls far short of what is actually needed to repair a broken Britain and build a just economy.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
Where Reeves exceeds expectations
To her credit, Reeves is borrowing to invest — and in this sense, she is aligning with Gordon Brown’s “Golden Rule” that governments should only borrow to fund capital investment.
This is a significant departure from the Osborne-era Austerity playbook.
There is real money being channelled into transport links, research and development, school buildings, and green(ish) energy infrastructure.
Her announcements include:
- £39bn for social housing over 10 years
- £30bn for nuclear power (including £14.2bn for Sizewell C and £2.5bn for modular reactors)
- £15.6bn for buses, trams and trains in regional areas
- £86bn for science and technology, including AI and drug research
- £3.2bn for rebuilding unsafe school buildings
- £1.2bn for skills and training
It is investment on a scale unseen in the UK since before the 2008 crash.
The message: the state is back in business.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
But is it really?
Not quite. For all the rhetoric, Reeves’s plan clings tightly to neoliberal assumptions.
First, virtually all of this money will flow through private contractors.
This is state-led spending, but not state ownership.
The profits will be private, the risks public.
We’ve seen what that looks like before — with water, with rail, with energy.
It means rising prices, collapsing infrastructure, and no accountability.
Second, there is no public dividend.
National wealth is being used to fund private delivery, with no guarantee that the returns will flow back to the public in the form of lower bills, better services, or fair wages.
Third, key areas of revenue spending remain neglected.
There is little in here for local authorities, social care remains underfunded despite a fair pay commitment, and there are no structural changes to how the NHS is managed or financed.
A £555 million allocation for children’s social care is welcome, but insufficient.
Finally, there is a concerning reliance on nuclear energy, presented as “clean” without grappling with the unresolved problem of nuclear waste.
And there is no serious plan for a green transition led by public initiative.
Where is the drive for publicly-owned renewable energy?
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
How does this compare with what we need?
Earlier today, I outlined the kind of programme a responsible government would pursue: re-nationalisation of essential utilities like water and energy, a rapid transition to green power under public control, and a progressive tax system that draws on wealth and profits to fund better services and lower costs for ordinary people.
None of that is here.
Instead, we have a Labour government that has rejected public ownership, even where it is clearly popular and cost-effective.
This government is choosing to fund private profit over public control.
It is using the language of change to mask the continuity of a failing economic model.
What about Simon Wren-Lewis’s vision?
Simon Wren-Lewis, the eminent economist, called on Labour to reject austerity and invest in growth.
On that score, Reeves has made a decent start! Her capital spending is meaningful.
But this is still not the kind of long-term, structural commitment to public goods that Wren-Lewis champions.
There is too little on day-to-day spending.
There’s no push to reverse the privatisation of services.
There’s no agenda for changing who owns what in the UK economy.
And no real strategy for reducing inequality or lifting living standards across the board.
So, is this the end of Austerity?
Not yet.
Austerity isn’t just about how much money is spent.
It’s about the balance between public and private interest, between investment and extraction.
It’s about who benefits.
Until departmental budgets are restored to pre-2008 levels in real terms, austerity continues.
Until councils can fund libraries, youth services, and care homes, austerity continues.
Until pensions and disability benefits meet the needs of the people who rely on them, austerity continues.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A cautious welcome, a clear warning
Let’s give credit where it’s due: this spending review is more ambitious than many expected.
But ambition without transformation is not enough.
Reeves has not changed the rules of the game — she’s just raised the stakes.
The coming months will reveal whether this Labour government can resist the pull of profit and prioritise the public good.
If it won’t, then it will fall to others to push for a new political economy.
This Site is planning a series of articles setting out what that might look like — in housing, in energy, in health, in tax.
We can do better. We must.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Rachel Reeves’s big spending review: more than we feared – less than we need
Share this post:
At first glance, Rachel Reeves’s inaugural spending review as Chancellor may appear to be a breath of fresh air.
With £200 billion of investment announced across housing, transport, green energy, and science, it looks — finally — like we may be seeing an end to the long, grey grip of austerity.
But you don’t want to be fooled by the headlines.
What we’ve actually been given is a cleverly marketed piece of fiscal theatre: Keynesian in style (apparently advocating government spending and investment to boost demand and manage economic cycles, especially during downturns), but neoliberal in substance (favouring free markets, privatisation, deregulation, and reduced government spending on public services).
There are bright spots, to be sure. This is not the Thatcherite continuation we feared.
But it falls far short of what is actually needed to repair a broken Britain and build a just economy.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
Where Reeves exceeds expectations
To her credit, Reeves is borrowing to invest — and in this sense, she is aligning with Gordon Brown’s “Golden Rule” that governments should only borrow to fund capital investment.
This is a significant departure from the Osborne-era Austerity playbook.
There is real money being channelled into transport links, research and development, school buildings, and green(ish) energy infrastructure.
Her announcements include:
It is investment on a scale unseen in the UK since before the 2008 crash.
The message: the state is back in business.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
But is it really?
Not quite. For all the rhetoric, Reeves’s plan clings tightly to neoliberal assumptions.
First, virtually all of this money will flow through private contractors.
This is state-led spending, but not state ownership.
The profits will be private, the risks public.
We’ve seen what that looks like before — with water, with rail, with energy.
It means rising prices, collapsing infrastructure, and no accountability.
Second, there is no public dividend.
National wealth is being used to fund private delivery, with no guarantee that the returns will flow back to the public in the form of lower bills, better services, or fair wages.
Third, key areas of revenue spending remain neglected.
There is little in here for local authorities, social care remains underfunded despite a fair pay commitment, and there are no structural changes to how the NHS is managed or financed.
A £555 million allocation for children’s social care is welcome, but insufficient.
Finally, there is a concerning reliance on nuclear energy, presented as “clean” without grappling with the unresolved problem of nuclear waste.
And there is no serious plan for a green transition led by public initiative.
Where is the drive for publicly-owned renewable energy?
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
How does this compare with what we need?
Earlier today, I outlined the kind of programme a responsible government would pursue: re-nationalisation of essential utilities like water and energy, a rapid transition to green power under public control, and a progressive tax system that draws on wealth and profits to fund better services and lower costs for ordinary people.
None of that is here.
Instead, we have a Labour government that has rejected public ownership, even where it is clearly popular and cost-effective.
This government is choosing to fund private profit over public control.
It is using the language of change to mask the continuity of a failing economic model.
What about Simon Wren-Lewis’s vision?
Simon Wren-Lewis, the eminent economist, called on Labour to reject austerity and invest in growth.
On that score, Reeves has made a decent start! Her capital spending is meaningful.
But this is still not the kind of long-term, structural commitment to public goods that Wren-Lewis champions.
There is too little on day-to-day spending.
There’s no push to reverse the privatisation of services.
There’s no agenda for changing who owns what in the UK economy.
And no real strategy for reducing inequality or lifting living standards across the board.
So, is this the end of Austerity?
Not yet.
Austerity isn’t just about how much money is spent.
It’s about the balance between public and private interest, between investment and extraction.
It’s about who benefits.
Until departmental budgets are restored to pre-2008 levels in real terms, austerity continues.
Until councils can fund libraries, youth services, and care homes, austerity continues.
Until pensions and disability benefits meet the needs of the people who rely on them, austerity continues.
Five books are gone – 45 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A cautious welcome, a clear warning
Let’s give credit where it’s due: this spending review is more ambitious than many expected.
But ambition without transformation is not enough.
Reeves has not changed the rules of the game — she’s just raised the stakes.
The coming months will reveal whether this Labour government can resist the pull of profit and prioritise the public good.
If it won’t, then it will fall to others to push for a new political economy.
This Site is planning a series of articles setting out what that might look like — in housing, in energy, in health, in tax.
We can do better. We must.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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