OBR a backseat driver with out-of-date maps, thinktanks tell Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves must reform the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to open the way to more public investment, an alliance of thinktanks has argued ahead of the chancellor’s spring forecast on Tuesday.With Keir Starmer’s government under intense pressure after Labour’s defeat by the Greens in Thursday’s Gorton and Denton byelection, the thinktanks called on Reeves to review the watchdog’s remit.The coalition includes the Labour group Progress, usually considered on the right of the party, the leftwing thinktanks the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Common Wealth, and the feminist Women’s Budget Group.They said: “It has become increasingly clear that our current framework is contributing to instability, short-termist underinvestment and a lack of focus on long-term risks and opportunities.”Reeves is expected to focus in the spring forecast on Labour’s progress in restoring fiscal stability and point to evidence of a nascent economic recovery.
Louisa Dollimore, the director of strategy at the Good Growth Foundation, which convened the group, said: “The OBR is a backseat driver with out-of-date maps: it obstructs long-term planning and investment at a moment when Britain needs both.”Hannah Peaker, the NEF’s deputy chief executive, said: “While independent scrutiny of the government’s spending plans is important, our current system means small changes in uncertain forecasts lead to governments making kneejerk policy changes of huge consequence.This is no way to run an economy.”Last week the Institute for Fiscal Studies called for the fiscal rules to be overhauled.Some economists complain that the OBR takes insufficient account of the potential benefits of future government investment, and that the way it has been set up to deliver a pass-fail verdict on the chancellor’s fiscal rules leads to hasty decision-making – such as the £5bn in welfare cuts made in last year’s spring statement.
Reeves has since asked the OBR, which was established by George Osborne as chancellor in 2010, to give its verdict on her fiscal rules just once a year, at the autumn budget,The thinktanks have called on her to go further,Adam Langleben, the executive director of Progress, said: “The OBR was created for an era defined by austerity, and while it can clearly count the upfront cost of investment, it too often misses the long-term value, whether that’s a healthier workforce, better housing or modern transport,“Its judgments should guide decisions, not shut down ambition,The real risk isn’t investing in Britain’s future, it’s leaving things exactly as they are.
”Reeves has changed the fiscal rules to allow the Treasury to borrow more to invest, and significantly increased taxes to fund public services, but some Labour MPs remain concerned that the party has been too cautious on tax and spend.However, the former OBR directors Richard Hughes and Robert Chote said at a hearing before the Treasury select committee last week that successive governments had overspent.Hughes, who resigned last year after the accidental early release of the OBR’s budget forecasts, told MPs: “Most surprises that governments face tend to be bad ones, especially these days, and so if you don’t take account of them, you’re always going to end up with this upwards drift … of deficits going up and debts going up.”
US Half Marathon Championship ends in chaos as lead runners guided in wrong direction
USA Track & Field has denied an appeal after its Half Marathon Championship in Atlanta ended in chaos.With less than two miles to go in the women’s race, Jess McClain had a significant lead over Ednah Kurgat and Emma Hurley when the guide vehicle took the trio off course. Molly Born, who had been more than a minute behind the leaders, came through to win the race, with Carrie Ellwood and and Annie Rodenfels in second and third. McClain, Hurley and Kurgat finished in ninth, 12th and 13th respectively around two minutes behind Born. Wesley Kiptoo won the men’s race
AFL 2026 predicted ladder part one: Collingwood on a cliff edge as time waits for no one | Jonathan Horn
The Craig McRae-era Magpies play exhilarating football but their age profile makes you wince while other, younger teams are preparing to spikeThe rule changes and AFL adjustments keep coming with the introduction of wildcard round and an extension of the finals series the biggest for many years. But even with 10 clubs playing beyond the home-and-away season for the first time, there will always be teams heading in the wrong direction or simply well off the pace.In the first of a three-part series on 2026 predictions, here’s how we see the bottom part of the ladder playing out.Wooden spoon predictions are rarely brimming with optimism. But this is a great time to be a Richmond person
US hockey star Hilary Knight hits back at Trump’s joke about women’s team during SNL skit
US ice hockey star Hilary Knight aimed a barb at Donald Trump during an appearance on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live.Knight led the US women to gold at last month’s Olympics, scoring the Americans’ first goal as they beat Canada in overtime. But after the US men’s team won gold Trump joked that he would have to invite the women’s team to the White House too or risk being impeached. Many of the men’s players laughed at Trump’s comments, and Knight later called them “distasteful and unfortunate.” While the US men visited the White House last week, Knight and her teammates said they were too busy to attend and will instead celebrate at an event in July organized by rapper Flavor Flav
Australia hammer India by 185 runs in third women’s one-day cricket international – as it happened
That’s it from us. We’ll have over-by-over coverage of the full women’s Test between Australia and India from the Western Australian Cricket Association ground for four days from March 6. Later, potaters.It was a day almost all about Alyssa Healy. Yes, she will play in and captain in a Test match to end this series, but the bulk of her career, as it is for women’s international cricket, has been about the shorter formats
The ultimate breakdown: everything you need to know about F1’s new regulations for 2026
In a week’s time, a new era will begin in Formula One as a major shift in regulations brings with it an air of unpredictability when the Australian Grand Prix gets under way in Melbourne.The cars have been made smaller and lighter with the intent of making them more nimble and better to drive, and to facilitate improved racing. The wheelbase has been reduced by 20cm to 340cm and the width by 10cm to 190cm. Across changes in the chassis and to the engine, the overall weight has been reduced by 30kg. Drivers such as Lewis Hamilton have declared themselves generally pleased with the improved handling characteristics of their more sprightly rides, which will operate with approximately 40% less drag, but they will not enjoy the same downforce or pace as with last year’s models and are expected to open the season a second or two slower per lap than last year
Leeds’ Maika Sivo stars in demolition of Hull KR in Las Vegas
Hull KR may be rugby league’s new world club champions but, on the biggest stage the sport can provide its star athletes, it was Leeds Rhinos who produced their very best in Las Vegas to dismantle the Super League champions.A week after stunning Brisbane Broncos, the National Rugby League premiers, to win the World Club Challenge for the first time, the Robins headed to Nevada keen to put on another show to enhance their burgeoning reputation as one of the sport’s great sides. But the Super League champions were humbled by one of their main title rivals.Whether Rovers were fatigued from their exploits against the Broncos is a discussion for another day. But whatever the reason, there is no doubting they were second best here against a Leeds side fast becoming their kryptonite
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