Chancellor to give Downing Street speech as markets open and is expected to be ‘candid’ about choices to fill fiscal gap Keir Starmer perhaps gave a clearer hint as to what is coming in the budget when he addressed Labour MPs in private last night at a meeting of the PLP (parliamentary Labour party). This is what Jessica Elgot and Pippa Crerar are reporting in their splash story. Starmer told MPs on Monday night it would be a “Labour budget built on Labour values” and promised it would protect the NHS, reduce debt and ease the cost of living. The prime minister gave MPs a hint at how the government would frame its potential manifesto breach – saying it was “becoming clearer that the long-term impact of Tory austerity, their botched Brexit deal and the pandemic on Britain’s productivity is worse than even we feared”. Later this month, I will deliver my second budget as chancellor. At that budget, I will make the choices necessary to deliver strong foundations for our economy – for this year, and years to come. Continue reading...

A state-of-the-art road bridge has been built deep in the heart of rural Buckinghamshire. Designed to carry traffic over the HS2 railway, there's just one tiny problem - there's no actual road.