Spending review: Ignore the big sums – there are painful trade-offs to come

The spending ‘envelope’ may have been set but the details of Wednesday’s comprehensive spending review will leave the chancellor with some tough choices, writes Phil Thornton

Rishi Sunak says a 1 percentage point rise in both inflation and interest rates could cost the exchequer £25bn a year (AFP/Getty)

The Budget may get all the headlines this week, but the comprehensive spending review (CSR) to be unveiled by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on Wednesday will give the most concrete signal of the government’s intentions for the rest of this parliament up to and beyond polling day.

Forget the slogans of “build back better” and “levelling up”, it is the overall spending remits for departments for the three financial years to April 2025 that will indicate which areas will be prioritised.

The problem for the chancellor is that he has a tricky balancing act to perform, both between the needs of different departments and the need to deliver on the promises of the last manifesto and his desire to offer tax cuts in the next one.