Reeves insists she has right plan despite growth cut forecast

T HE UK faces weaker economic growth and higher unemployment than previously expected but Rachel Reeves insisted she had the right plan and the country must "stay the course".

- DAVID HUGHES Press Association

The Chancellor said her plan was "more necessary than ever before in a world of uncertainty" with the Iran conflict threatening economic stability.

In a highly political spring statement - taking aim at Reform UK, the Green Party and with a warning to critics in her own party - Ms Reeves cautioned against any "change of course".

But the Office for Budget Responsibility indicated gross domestic product will increase by 1.1% in 2026, down from the 1.4% it forecast in November.

The watchdog upgraded its forecasts for 2027 and 2028 from 1.5% to 1.6%.

The unemployment rate is forecast to hit 5.3% this year, up from the 4.9% forecast in November, with the rates in 2027 and 2028 also likely to be higher than had been expected in autumn.

The watchdog said entrants into the labour force were "struggling to find work amid subdued hiring demand".

Updating MPs on the forecasts in her spring statement, against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, Ms Reeves said: "This government has the right economic plan for our country, a plan that is even more important in a world that in the last few days has become yet more uncertain."