LONDON (AP) — The British economy will only grow by 1% this year, half the rate previously anticipated, Treasury chief Rachel Reeves conceded Wednesday in a statement to lawmakers about the state of the public finances that saw her trim spending so she could meet her self-imposed borrowing rules.
Against that sluggish economic backdrop that she blamed on “global uncertainty,” but which critics say she is largely responsible for, Reeves insisted that it was imperative that the government lived within its means.
Click to Gallery
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives to host a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Larry the cat and Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, sits on the steps of 10 Downing Street before Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement, London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Protesters demonstrate as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Protesters show placards as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Protesters show placards as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Protesters demonstrate as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, carries files as she leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks to the media during a visit to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, center, visits Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is shown a simulator during a visit to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is shown a military vehicle during a visit to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Doing so, she said, was “an embodiment of this government’s unwavering commitment to bring stability to our economy.”
Reeves' statement came after the government's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, or OBR, found a 14 billion-pound ($18 billion) shortfall in light of the growth shortfall and higher debt interest payments.
Reeves, whose official title is Chancellor of the Exchequer, has partly sought to fill that hole with measures to rein in tax avoidance and tax evasion, and by lowering the day-to-day costs of running government.
Far more controversial are planned welfare cuts that have caused widespread unease within the governing left-of-center Labour Party. While a government-backed assessment found that the changes to disability benefits could push 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty, Reeves said that didn't account for how the changes will move people into work and away from welfare.
“That’s the best way to lift families out of poverty,” she said.
Longer-term, the OBR forecasts were a bit more positive for the government with housing starts on course to meet a four-decade high following widespread planning reforms. Reeves was able to point to higher growth forecasts for the years ahead which, if they prove accurate, should ease the pressure on her to lower spending or increase taxes in the remaining years of this Parliament, which can run until the middle of 2029.
However, the agency said the outlook looks “risky,” particularly on the international front. It highlighted risks posed by the prospect of a global trade war in light of the tariff policies being enacted by the Trump administration.
Paul Johnson, director of the well-respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, said another growth downgrade in the fall ahead of the annual budget is “entirely possible” and that Reeves has left herself at the “mercy of events” given her iron-clad adherence to her fiscal rules.
“What the Chancellor has all but guaranteed is another six months of damaging speculation and uncertainty over tax policy,” he said.
Reflecting geopolitical turbulence caused by the return of U.S. President Donald Trump, Reeves told lawmakers that a “more insecure world” requires a greater focus on national security.
As a result, she confirmed a 2.2 billion-pound ($2.9 billion) increase in defense spending, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said is the biggest increase since the end of the Cold War.
“This additional investment is not just about increasing our national security but increasing our economic security, too,” Reeves said. “As defense spending rises, I want the whole country to feel the benefits.”
The British economy, the sixth-largest in the world, has underperformed its long-run average since the global financial crisis of 2008-9, and the new Labour government has made boosting growth its number one economic policy.
Critics say Reeves is partly responsible for gloomy economic news since Labour returned to power in July after 14 years, because she was overly downbeat when taking on her role and has since increased taxes, particularly on businesses.
“She is the architect of her own misfortune,” said Mel Stride, the economy spokesperson for the main opposition Conservative Party.
Reeves received some welcome news Wednesday, with official figures showing that consumer price inflation fell to 2.8% from 3% the previous month. Though still above the Bank of England's 2% target, Reeves will hope that easing price pressures will lead to further interest rate reductions that would lower the government's debt interest payments.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives to host a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in Downing Street, London, England, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Larry the cat and Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, sits on the steps of 10 Downing Street before Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement, London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Protesters demonstrate as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Protesters show placards as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Protesters show placards as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Protesters demonstrate as Britain's Chancellor Rachel Reeves is about to leave 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, carries files as she leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, leaves 11 Downing Street to deliver the spring statement at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks to the media during a visit to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, center, visits Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is shown a simulator during a visit to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is shown a military vehicle during a visit to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) in Telford, England, Monday March 24, 2025. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar jumped to more than 1,000 on Saturday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of the scores of buildings that collapsed when it struck near the country's second-largest city.
The country's military-led government said in a statement that 1,002 people have now been found dead and another 2,376 injured, with 30 others missing. The statement suggested the numbers could still rise, saying “detailed figures are still being collected.”
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in the throes of a prolonged and bloody civil war, which is already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis. It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could still rise precipitously.
The earthquake struck midday Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks including one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude. It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam.
In the capital Naypyidaw, crews worked Saturday to repair damaged roads, while electricity, phone and internet services remained down for most of the city. The earthquake brought down many buildings, including multiple units that housed government civil servants, but that section of the city was blocked off by authorities on Saturday.
In neighboring Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to some 17 million people, and other parts of the country.
Bangkok city authorities said so far six people have been found dead, 26 injured and 47 are still missing, most from a construction site near the capital's popular Chatuchak market.
On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move the tons of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive.
“I was praying that that they had survived but when I got here and saw the ruin — where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive,” said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site.
“I cannot accept this. When I see this I can’t accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too,” she said.
Waenphet Panta said she hadn't heard from her daughter Kanlayanee since a phone call about an hour before the quake. A friend told her Kanlayanee had been working high on the building on Friday.
“I am praying my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she’s at the hospital,” she said, Kanlayanee’s father sitting beside her.
Thai authorities said that the quake and aftershocks were felt in most of the country's provinces. Many places in the north reported damage to residential buildings, hospitals and temples, including in Chiang Mai, but the only casualties were reported in Bangkok
Earthquakes are rare in Bangkok, but relatively common in Myanmar. The country sits on the Sagaing Fault, a major north-south fault that separates the India plate and the Sunda plate.
Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, said it appears a 200-kilometer (125-mile) section of the fault ruptured for just over a minute, with a slip of up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) in places, causing intense ground shaking in an area where most of the population lives in buildings constructed of timber and unreinforced brick masonry.
“When you have a large earthquake in an area where there are over a million people, many of them living in vulnerable buildings, the consequences can often be disastrous," he said in a statement.
“From initial reports, that seems likely to be the case here.”
Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept outside assistance.
Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and is now involved in a bloody civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones.
Military forces continued their attacks even after the quake, with three airstrikes in northern Kayin state, also called Karenni state, and southern Shan — both of which border Mandalay state, said Dave Eubank, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier who founded the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid organization that has provided assistance to both combatants and civilians in Myanmar since the 1990s.
Eubank told The Associated Press that in the area he was operating in, most villages have already been destroyed by the military so the earthquake had little impact.
“People are in the jungle and I was out in the jungle when the earthquake hit — it was powerful, but the trees just moved, that was it for us, so we haven't had a direct impact other than that the Burma army keeps attacking, even after the quake,” he said.
In northern Shan, an airstrike on a rebel-controlled village just minutes after the earthquake killed seven militia members and damaged five buildings, including a school, Mai Rukow, editor of a Shan-based online media Shwe Phee Myay News Agency, told the AP.
Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous or simply impossible for aid groups to reach. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.
“Although a full picture of the damage is still emerging, most of us have never seen such destruction," said Haider Yaqub, Myanmar country director for the NGO Plan International, from Yangon.
“Without a doubt, the humanitarian needs will be significant.”
China and Russia are the largest suppliers of weapons to Myanmar's military, and were among the first to step in with humanitarian aid.
China said it has sent more than 135 rescue personnel and experts along with supplies like medical kits and generators, while Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it had flown in 120 rescuers and supplies
India also sent a search and rescue team and a medical team and Malaysia said it would send 50 people on Sunday.
South Korea said it would provide $2 million worth of humanitarian aid through international organizations, and the U.N. allocated $5 million to start relief efforts.
President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.
AP writers Jerry Harmer and Grant Peck in Bangkok, Simina Mistreanu in Taipei and Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
Rescuers look at debris of a high-rise building that was under construction in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as they search for victims following its collapse after Friday' earthquake. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Relatives wait under a shade near the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A man peeks through an opening in a fence to watch rescue work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A rescuer gives instruction at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 29, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees gather to board one of two planes with rescuers to Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, from a Moscow airfield, Russia. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)
A collapsed building is seen after a powerful earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A collapsed building is seen in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, March 29, 2025, after an earthquake rocked Myanmar on Friday. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Buddhist monks walk past a collapsed building after a powerful earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
People wait at the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A military member directs a heavy duty machine in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, during the search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
People stand near a damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A relative of a worker at a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake weeps as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Patients are evacuated outdoors at a hospital after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Tadchakorn Kitchaiphon)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A rescuer walks past debris of a construction site for a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, during a search mission at the collapsed building after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Relatives of workers at a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake wait as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Vehicles make their way near a road damaged by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A building is damaged after earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Volunteers look for survivors near a damaged building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, volunteers rescue near damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects victims caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
