Politics At Sam and Anne's

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.    It’s a big day and nobody quite knows how it’ll end. President Trump will share the details of his tariff plan about 9pm UK time. As we record, the message from the UK government stays the same – it’s a cool and calm approach, talks continue and no retaliation immediately.  But is tonight’s Rose Garden moment really about economics - or more about international power dynamics?  Also today, it’s the last PMQs before Easter so a chance to seek some clues about how Keir Starmer is feeling about any deal.  

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy look ahead to the day in British politics.There's a cabinet meeting this morning - so it's a good time to discuss the dynamics around that table and why who is in what WhatsApp group matters. And what are the potential repercussions of one gang being in favour and another being out of favour?Meanwhile, as Donald Trump's tariffs 'liberation day' looms, what sort of expectation management is the UK government conducting?Are ministers having to water down some of their more hopeful signals on what deal they'll get?

Your morning politics digest with Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy.  Ahead of “liberation day”, when Trump’s new tariffs come into effect, how can and will the UK respond? And what does it mean for Starmer’s broader relationship with the US president?   And as Donald Trump appears to be changing his messaging on Putin, how much credit can the UK take? And what does it all ultimately mean for a Ukrainian peace deal? 

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy debrief on Rachel Reeves's spring statement - with the added twist of Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on all imported cars. The chancellor has planned to get her fiscal headroom back to £9.9bn with warnings that her buffer looks too small against global events - and, right on cue, the US president has upped his trade war.So is the economy stuck in a "doom loop" or is there a narrative that things could still "go okay" for Labour? Sam and Anne also discuss the re-emerging rumour that the prime minister is on the lookout for a senior economics adviser - and if the Labour rebellion gets bigger and louder with those harsher welfare cuts.

It's spring statement day – a bigger day than the Treasury probably ever wanted it to be – but definitely not a budget.With Chancellor Rachel Reeves on course to break her own fiscal rules, she'll lay out how she intends to find billions of pounds of extra savings. At the eleventh hour, it looks like welfare cuts will be tougher than first thought – with a hit on Universal Credit.Sam and Anne outline what the calculations are likely to be and how the chancellor will handle the day. And beyond today – if there's no glimmer of growth by the end of the year, how would she approach the autumn budget? Could that be where raising taxes is the only option?

Your morning politics digest with Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy. The countdown to Trump’s tariff ‘Liberation Day’ continues with the UK looking at its options ahead of announcing any trade deal. Is abolishing Britain’s digital services tax still one of the most likely moves? That’d mean missing out on hundreds of millions from the likes of Meta and Amazon. Elsewhere, with Rachel Reeves struggling to shake off the story about her Sabrina Carpenter tickets before the Spring statement, there’s another story to trouble the cabinet this morning. There are reports that Angela Rayner wanted to tag a private safari tour onto an official trip. Does it all matter? Sam and Anne start the morning with a disagreement.

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.    With two days to go until the Spring Statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been fighting off talk that she is taking Britain back to austerity.   Over the weekend she confirmed plans to cut Civil Service running costs by 15% and her statement is expected to unveil further savings.Reeves could also be on course to break the foundational promise of her Chancellorship - her own fiscal rules. What corrective action is she expected to take? And what else can we expect to hear from the Chancellor on Wednesday?  

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.  As Kemi Badenoch launches her local election campaign, is Nigel Farage right, would a stint on I’m A Celebrity help the Tories' chances?And, why Keir Starmer is continuing to market himself as the securocrat PM.

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.  Keir Starmer’s team spend the day trying to work out how the Trump-Putin phone call really went down. Could the UK end up sending more military support to Ukraine before any pause in fighting? The idea of an ice hockey game apparently came up on the call – Anne has an important history lesson on that. Around Westminster, it’s PMQs but the Labour charm offensive to convince its backbenchers of its welfare reforms goes on.

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.  It’s a big day for more than one reason. We know the details of the government’s welfare reforms will finally come this afternoon. Before that, this morning, Kemi Badenoch will say the UK’s target of hitting net zero by 2050 is ‘impossible’. How will Labour make their arguments in response – and will that be a new test for the Keir Starmer-Ed Miliband dynamic? On welfare, Sam and Anne go through the new details we’ll hear today. And it sounds like changes to PIP payments will need legislation.