Strength in numbers

Chancellor’s sums must add up to a safe, secure, long-term future for all

- Anneliese Dodds

From London to Ljubljana, European governments have had the same dilemma for the last eight months.

How can they find the money to pay for rearmament, after Donald ‘Trump made clear the US will no longer guarantee Europe’ security?

In Britain, the challenge is huge. As a proudly open trading economy, our country sneezes more than others when the global economy catches cold.

And our economy is weaker now than it should be. As Rachel Reeves has rightly said, since 2010, the chaotic Brexit deal, Covid pandemic and Tory austerity have all hammered productivity.

The new government has started to set things right, from three big new trade deals to investing in the green economy, to introducing free breakfast clubs for primary kids.