The Guardian view on Rachel Reeves’s spring statement: stability cannot mean sacrificing living standards | Editorial

An energy shock from war in the Gulf will expose the limits of rigid fiscal rules. The real question is who absorbs the loss: the state, firms or households? The war in the Middle East has sent oil and gas prices soaring – and Britain remains deeply exposed to global energy markets. If the shocks persist they will feed directly into household bills, business costs and inflation. On Tuesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility released projections that were finalised before the US-Israeli str...

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