MI6 has appointed its first female leader. What took it so long?

From politics to business, the determination to exclude women is purely emotional – a fact that remains as unspoken as it is obvious, writes Zoe Williams

UK government pledges further £590m for delayed Lower Thames Crossing

Rachel Reeves calls Britain’s biggest road-building project a ‘turning point for our national infrastructure’

Policymakers who think AI can help rescue flagging UK economy should take heed

Healthy scepticism is needed because flaw is that large language models remain prone to casually making things up

Reeves braced for OBR forecasts to blow £20bn hole in tax and spending plans

Downgrades by Treasury watchdog could force chancellor to raise taxes or cut spending at budget to meet fiscal rules

There hasn’t been a ‘big chancellor’ since Osborne: IFS chief gives final mark

As he steps down after 14 years, Paul Johnson says politicians and voters refuse to accept economic tradeoffs

Does Labour’s spending review signal a return to austerity?

Rachel Reeves is increasing overall budgets after deep Tory cuts, but some departments face bigger spending cuts than others

Demob-happy IFS director tears into Rachel Reeves’s spending review

Blistering analysis by outgoing chief concludes chancellor likely to end up ‘gnat’s whisker’ away from tax rises

UK politics: Reeves only a ‘gnat’s whisker’ from having to raise taxes in autumn, says IFS – as it happened

Institute for Fiscal Studies says Treasury figures for projected efficiency savings are not credible

Britain on track to become a ‘National Health State’, says thinktank

Resolution Foundation says half of all public spending will be allocated to the NHS and social care by the end of the decade

Reeves rules out disability benefit cuts U-turn but says rules may be tweaked

Chancellor says criteria for getting personal independence payment are being reviewed

Rachel Reeves seized her moment – whatever the future brings, Labour’s economic course is now set

The chancellor is no mere technocrat: her spending review revealed a visceral commitment to social and economic mobility, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

MPs call for inquiry into how RedBird Capital is funding £500m Telegraph deal

Exclusive: Cross-party group including peers warns of risk of ‘potential Chinese state influence’ in private equity firm

Great British Energy’s budget has been nuked

Ed Miliband’s vehicle for investing in renewables lost 30% of its pot to small modular nuclear reactors in the spending review

GB Energy’s promised £8.3bn budget raided to pay for small nuclear reactors

National energy company effectively loses £2.5bn to separate body tasked with spearheading nuclear renaissance

UK politics: Police chiefs say funding ‘falls far short’ of what is needed to meet government’s ambitions – as it happened

NPCC’s Gavin Stephens says settlement in spending review will cover little more than inflationary pay rises