Chancellor was able to point to glimmers of hope in spring statement despite economic growth forecasts being slashed
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The bruising row over welfare cuts in the run-up to Rachel Reeves’s spring statement led to the Treasury being portrayed as a gang of bullies with spreadsheets, ranging across Whitehall.
Her moment in the spotlight on Wednesday allowed the chancellor to set these wrangles over tax and spend in a wider context: as a precondition for rebuilding the UK.
