The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, updated the House of Commons and the nation on the state of the country’s finances on 3 March 2026.
After the maelstrom created by the past two Budget speeches, and earlier hints from the Chancellor that she wanted to deliver a “boring” Spring Statement with no new tax measures announced, that was precisely what was delivered today in the Chancellor’s speech. The Chancellor appears to understand that businesses and households need certainty (at least for a while) on their plans and finances and so no new tax measures were announced today over and above those measures effective from 6 April 2026 and announced in earlier Budget speeches.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts showed that borrowing is down £18bn on the forecast from the Autumn. One of the reasons for this will undoubtedly be that tax receipts collected by HMRC in January reached £133.3 billion – the highest level on record. This created a £30.4bn surplus in government spending against a forecast surplus of £23 bn. This surplus was led by a 69% increase in capital gains tax (CGT) receipts – with CGT raising £17bn in January.
Against this backdrop, the Chancellor’s speech was relatively buoyant, although it was clearly written before any impact arising from the Middle East conflict currently taking place can be determined. The consequences of higher oil and gas prices will likely lead to an increase in inflation and the impact of that will be felt across the wider economy in due course.
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