No red letter from Rachel? Time to get creative

What does the Chancellor's spending review mean for your campaigning organisation? One way to cut through the noise is to jump straight to the departmental settlements (section 5 here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html#departmental-settlements)

Some of what you will see has been well covered - the boost for health and housing, the belt tightening for Home Office, the big clean energy and science investments. But there’s a few lower profile things to note. Colleagues working on domestic abuse will be interested to see that Justice gets a much-needed boost. Is this the years of experience as Director of Public Prosecutions in an under-funded service, translating into a quiet determination from the PM to turn things round? It will take more than a couple of percent growth to do this, but I hope so.

Those working on nature may be concerned to see cuts to DEFRA and feel their policy priorities are getting the Cinderella treatment  - uninvited to the Climate ball. As someone who has worked on deforestation related policy for several years, I worry about what this means for delivery of some of the long-awaited commitments in the Environment Act 2021. The manifesto was clear about the duality of the climate and nature crisis. Let's hold government feet to the fire.

Overall, what the review highlights is the need to take mission-based approach to our work. There may be no fairy godmother, but like Cinderella, let's not wait for the invitation to land. Look outside your regular departments. Hold government to account for the cross Whitehall approach it has said it will take. In the face of a surge of insecurity and following years of public service neglect the new government has had to be creative. Now as campaigners, so must we.