The BIG Rachel Reeves Weekender
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 22 March 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, Laura and Paddy look ahead to the Spring Statement after Rachel Reeves ruled out "tax and spend" policies, signalling that she will neither raise taxes nor government budgets.
The chancellor has been speaking to Laura for a BBC documentary called ‘The Making of a Chancellor, which you can listen to on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00298hq
Also Paddy tries out a new metaphor.
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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell . It was made by Lewis Vickers with Adam Chowdhury. Digital production by Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:04.8 | It's a Saturday newscast with a difference because, Laura, you've done a documentary about a woman who will make all the news in the next seven days anyway. |
| 0:13.1 | I have. |
| 0:13.9 | And Rachel Reeves, whatever you think of her, is going to be featuring very heavily in our lives in the next few days, not just because she's got a big spring |
| 0:20.9 | statement, which is not a budget, but it's going to feel a bit like a budget on Wednesday, |
| 0:25.0 | but also she features very heavily on all on our lives, whether we like it or not. |
| 0:28.9 | She must feature in your head. You've been doing it, you've had this access. You've been |
| 0:32.4 | speaking to her for days. And I'm speaking to her again tomorrow. It's both a good thing, I suppose, and maybe a slightly weird thing that actually we've got a documentary about her. |
| 0:41.3 | And I've spent some time with her and talked to people who know her very well the same weekend that we're then going to speak to her tomorrow and hear lots and lots from her on Wednesday. |
| 0:50.1 | But I think, and I hope that newscasters might agree whether they like it or they don't like it, that it is worthwhile because Rachel Reeves is a massively important political figure. |
| 1:01.0 | She's incredibly influential. |
| 1:03.3 | She's making decisions over the economy. |
| 1:05.5 | And everything she does in her professional life affects every single one of us. So this is Saturday's |
| 1:12.3 | newscast, the Rachel Reeves edition. Newscast. Newscast from the BBC. I like landscapes. I don't |
| 1:18.4 | think I'm being rude. Japping, unemployed people who are overweight. That is not the agenda. |
| 1:23.1 | It's the fun police working overtime. The star is born. Elon. |
| 1:27.3 | So hurt that America miracle let this happen. |
| 1:29.4 | Frankly, I think we need a British Trump. |
| 1:31.2 | Take me down to Downing Street. Let's go have it to world. |
| 1:34.6 | Blimey. |
| 1:36.3 | Hello, it's Laura in the studio. |
| 1:37.4 | It's Paddy in the studio. And in our minds is a woman who should basically be here as well. |
... |
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