Why is nobody talking about the ‘black hole’?

An episode of the Politics At Sam and Anne's podcast, hosted by Sky News, titled "Why is nobody talking about the ‘black hole’?" was published on September 3, 2025 and runs 21 minutes.

September 3, 2025 ·21m · Politics At Sam and Anne's

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Summary

The date for the budget will be confirmed today – so Sam and Anne look at the options for Rachel Reeves’ diary with a backdrop of more market jitters. They also go over the ways she could plug the hole in the public finances – estimated to be between £20-£50 billion –while still meeting her fiscal rules. But why isn't the government saying more about the tricky decisions ahead? There are more scraps from Monday’s government reshuffle – with a name of someone who apparently turned down a role. As well as from the first PMQs after summer, Keir Starmer will meet with the leader of Spain, Pedro Sanches, at Downing Street and new Green leader Zack Polanski gets to work.

Episode Description

The date for the budget will be confirmed today – so Sam and Anne look at the options for Rachel Reeves’ diary with a backdrop of more market jitters.

They also go over the ways she could plug the hole in the public finances – estimated to be between £20-£50 billion –while still meeting her fiscal rules.

But why isn't the government saying more about the tricky decisions ahead?

There are more scraps from Monday’s government reshuffle – with a name of someone who apparently turned down a role.

As well as from the first PMQs after summer, Keir Starmer will meet with the leader of Spain, Pedro Sanches, at Downing Street and new Green leader Zack Polanski gets to work.