Max Warner

The government's Defence Investment Plan adds £3.8 billion a year, but how it will be funded and the path to 3.5% by 2035 remain key challenges.

Britain faces high debt, high borrowing costs, rising taxes and stretched public services. We explain the fiscal reality facing any government.

A manifesto with big tax and bigger spending increases – and a mixed bag of tax reforms.

A focus on improving existing services rather than new entitlements or tax cuts

A manifesto with more support for families with children, but important question marks over how to fund its giveaways.

English hospital services are in a relatively poor state - yet still look substantially better on many measures than those in Scotland and Wales

Explore how and where the government spends money, and how this has changed over time, in all regions and nations of the UK

Welsh health and education services are performing worse than before the pandemic and lag behind England

Welsh health and education systems are underperforming – with cuts to spending on some public services likely post-election.

Five years on from COVID, Scotland's public services are still struggling to recover

Scottish public services are struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and cuts to some services loom.

IFS researchers respond to the Chancellor’s Spring Forecast, which was presented against an uncertain global backdrop with little new policy.

Why isn’t the NHS improving faster? We unpack waiting lists, winter pressures, productivity and reform plans - and ask whether real change is coming.

The adult social care sector in England faces long-standing and well-documented workforce challenges.

Productivity is rising rapidly in English hospitals, but this has not translated into large falls in waiting times.

IFS researchers provide a response to the new economic forecast and major policy announcements contained in the 2025 Budget.

We consider the implications of different potential changes to departmental spending plans at the upcoming Budget.

The Chancellor's second Budget will be a tricky one. The fiscal outlook has deteriorated, raising the prospect of spending cuts or further tax rises.