Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel as the war with Iran intensified over the weekend. Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, without a solution to the severe disruption in crude oil flows, how hard will we feel it back in Britain? And why has Britain left itself so vulnerable from its energy policy? Michael Simmons is joined by former advisor to Donald Trump Tyler Goodspeed to discuss why this situation has far greater consequences than Trump’s tariffs, how petroleum is so embedded in our everyday economy and why Ed Miliband could be heading for a Liz situation.

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Before the first missiles landed in Tehran, Rachel Reeves had been looking forward to today’s Spring ‘forecast’ statement, which was designed to be the lightest-touch intervention by a Chancellor since Philip Hammond in 2018: no OBR scoring of her fiscal rules, no tax announcements, no major policy changes and, crucially, no months of damaging speculation about black holes or gilt yields in Britain’s fragile economy. The strategy worked, with barely any chatter ahead of time and the only real question being how small her measures would be – until turmoil in the Middle East sent oil and gas prices surging, markets tumbling and bond yields climbing, threatening to render parts of her forecasts outdated. The detail, however, will matter: whether longer-term inflation expectations creep up again, whether unemployment – already above previous forecasts – rises further, and how credible her spending plans look in the eyes of the OBR. Whatever she reveals, we’ll bring you live reaction and analysis.

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Why are one in five school children classified as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in 2026? The rates of children being diagnosed with neurodiverse conditions have scaled to disproportionate rates and the costs are a major concern for the government. Michael Simmons takes a look at the data and explores why devolution has provided some kind of a solution.

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