From 3 Mar 2026Closing postTime to wrap up….Rachel Reeves insisted Labour has “the right economic plan” for a world that has become “yet more uncertain” as she delivered a spring forecast that downgraded growth for this year.The chancellor was addressing MPs against the backdrop of surging energy prices, as investors fret about the impact of the war in the Middle East.Reeves said she was in close touch with the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, as they monitored the situation and would meet representatives of the North Sea energy industry on Wednesday.New forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), published alongside her statement, showed that as Reeves said, “inflation is down, borrowing is down, living standards are up and the economy is growing”.“This government has restored economic stability,” she said, in a deliberately low-key statement that, as expected, contained no substantive policy announcements.Reeves conceded that GDP growth was now expected to be “slightly slower” this year, however, down to 1.1% from the previous forecast of 1.4%, after weaker than expected data in the final quarter of 2025 – but stronger in future years, at 1.6% in 2027 and 2028, and unchanged at 1.5% in 2029 and 2020.The OBR itself warned that: