Max Warner

IFS researchers provide a response to the new economic forecast and major policy announcements contained in the 2026 Budget.

Funding further increases in defence spending would require hard choices, both at this Budget and in the years ahead.

At his first Budget, the Chancellor faces an uncertain outlook for the economy, and added pressures on public spending from higher inflation.

How does the Office for Budget Responsibility incorporate migration into its forecasts of the public finances, and how could this be improved?

For the first time in over a decade, the NHS broadly stuck to its planned 2025-26 budget – but partly because hospital activity grew more slowly.

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