Labour was gambling on growth, but with stubbornly gloomy forecasts can they cut their way out of an economic hole? Peter Walker reports

Rachel Reeves had said that her government was all about growth. But as she stood up to give her spring statement it was clear that green shoots could not yet be seen. The UK’s growth forecast for this year had been halved, leaving the chancellor with a problem.

It was a new world of global insecurity, she said, but her response was not to raise taxes or break her fiscal rules. Instead, she would make big cuts – including to welfare. Senior political correspondent Peter Walker explains what she announced and the decisions she has made.