Nottingham politics expert: 'all eyes on the government' for the Spring Statement
He has warned Labour could lose the next election if they don't meet economic targets
A politics expert in the East Midlands has warned Labour will lose the next general election, if they do not meet their economic targets soon.
The Chancellor will deliver her Spring Statement today (03rd March) outlining the current economic situation in the UK and the forecast, following her Autumn Budget.
Rachel Reeves is expected to deliver the statement at midday in the House of Commons, allowing the opposition chance to respond afterwards.
Tom Caygill, Senior lecturer in Politics at Nottingham Trent University, told us this Spring Statement would be different to any other: "All it wants to do is comment on the economic forecast.
"It will focus on what the public can expect going towards the next Autumn Budget. It is partly because of the chaos the government got itself into last Autumn.
"Most of the budget actually ended up being leaked well in advance. So it seems like Rachel Reeves wants this year's Spring Statement to be dull to avoid any chaos," he said.
Why does the Spring Statement matter?
Tom told us: "This is a moment to hold the government to account for it's economic policies and whether or not they are meeting them. We are expecting inflation to keep falling and an interest rate cut from the Bank of England.
"This statement will tell us whether the government are on track to meet those targets. We already know there are some issues with economic growth. It has been sluggish.
"GDP only grew by 0.1% in the last three months of 2025. The statement is also important for the future of Rachel Reeves and Sir Kier Starmer's jobs. If the economy is on track, it will help them win back some public confidence," he said.
'Green shoots'
Tom told us what Labour would be hoping for in the Spring Statement: "I can expect we will hear a lot about 'green shoots' and optimism for the economy getting back on it's feet over the next couple of months.
"People in the East Midlands need to know that things are getting better. It has been a tough couple of years with the price of everything skyrocketting.
"It would be nice to hear that the pound in our back pockets is going to go a little bit further than it did before. The government need the good news to filter back down to us. If we do not feel the positives, it will not impact on their poll results in a good way," he said.