What is in Rachel Reeves’ £22bn black hole plan?

Rachel Reeves has accused the previous government of leaving a £22 billion shortfall in the public finances. But do the chancellor’s sums add up or was this all about the politics?

Anand, Hannah and Paul examine what could be a defining moment for this government, explore what Reeves is trying to do, and try to make sense of some of the decisions she made this week – like scrapping road and hospital building projects, restricting winter fuel payments, and cancelling the imposition of a cap on social care charges. 

So what actually is the state of the public finances? Did Labour really not know how bad things were? What does this mean for the civil service and, whisper it, independent experts? And with a budget now inked in for October, what should we be looking out for – and how tough are the decisions now facing the chancellor?