logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
21m 38s

The £40 billion gamble

THE TIMES
About this episode

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has raised taxes by £40 billion in the first Labour budget in fourteen years. Does it ‘fix the foundations’ or does it punish ‘working people’?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory


Guest: David Smith, Economics Editor, The Sunday Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Samantha Chantarasak.

Clips: Parliament live. 

Photo: Times Photographer Richard Pohle. 

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
How a US invasion of Kharg Island could play out
Donald Trump has threatened that the US would “obliterate Kharg Island” if a deal with Tehran was not reached. The US president has suggested he’d put boots on the ground to seize control of Iran's key oil export terminal. So why does the island matter so much? How would a ground ... Show More
30m 39s
Yesterday
Pete Hegseth: the former TV host selling Trump’s war
Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, was one of the most controversial picks in Trump’s cabinet. But as Trump’s foreign adventures have come to define his second term, Hegseth is not just more visible, he’s become the Iran war’s main cheerleader. So who is he?This podcast was b ... Show More
27m 26s
Mar 29
The Epstein Files, AI journalism and the future of truth - The Sunday Story
As AI seeps into every corner of art, film and social media, up next, it's podcasts. An AI-generated show called The Epstein Flies topped the Apple series charts last week, bringing you the very latest on the colossal 3.5 million documents, in a time frame that most journalists c ... Show More
35m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
What to make of the Labour government's first budget?
The Autumn Budget was the most significant since George Osborne implemented austerity in 2010. Rachel Reeves announced one hundred billion pounds for infrastructure, forty billion in tax rises and a whole host of policy changes, which she hopes will deliver Labour’s mission of na ... Show More
31m 48s
Jul 2024
Is there really no money left?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she's discovered a "£20bn black hole" in the public finances left by the previous government.      In the Commons, she set out her plans to address the funding shortfall through spending cuts, as shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt accused Labour of using ... Show More
17m 56s
Oct 2024
332. Rachel Reeves' Budget: How does it affect you?
Is Labour's first budget a success or failure for the new government? How does it compare to previous budgets? Did Rachel Reeves alter her proposals from pre-election? Rory and Alastair come together to answer all your budget related questions in today's emergency budget episode ... Show More
43m 50s
Jul 2014
#7 BBC News Cuts, Murdoch bids for Time Warner
Media punditry and irreverent chatter recorded in central London, this week with presenter Olly Mann, media writer Maggie Brown and Lis Howell, director of broadcasting at City University London.We knew jobs were to go at BBC News, now we know how many and where: hundreds of staf ... Show More
29m 3s
May 2024
What do the local elections mean for the UK
Three years’ ago, the Conservative Party celebrated their best local elections performance since 2008. But after last week’s local elections in England and Wales, the Telegraph called the results a “dire day” for the Conservatives. Now that the dust has settled, we’re taking a cl ... Show More
30m 31s
Oct 2025
Britain: a beacon of economic stability?
The countdown is on: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has just six weeks to finalise her Autumn Budget before the November 26 deadline. This week, she was in Washington DC for the annual meeting of the IMF, where she hinted at tax rises for the rich, while pinning some blame for Britain’ ... Show More
33m 12s
Mar 2024
Spring budget reaction
We’re waiting longer than ever for hospital appointments, our kids’ schools are literally crumbling, and homelessness has sky-rocketed in the past year. This week’s spring budget was a vital chance for chancellor Jeremy Hunt to respond to the huge problems our country is facing. ... Show More
31m 14s
Feb 2024
Introducing the new chief executive of NEF
It’s 2024 and in Westminster an election is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Step back a little further and across the UK millions of us are more concerned with how we’ll afford to pay their sky-high rent or energy bills. Zoom out further again and we see a world where billi ... Show More
39m 56s
Oct 2025
The economics of birth control. With Martha Bailey
When it comes to women controlling their own economic destinies, perhaps nothing has had a more profound impact than the contraceptive pill. But the US may be on the cusp of change. Earlier this year, the Trump administration froze some federal funding for subsidised access to co ... Show More
32m 4s