Yesterday’s budget announcement was jam-packed with policies, which was surprising since the government had leaked so many of its plans in advance (all the better to prevent any nasty, Kwarteng-style surprises). Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s “budget for growth” overhauled pensions and childcare support in a bid to boost the UK workforce. It also covered business taxes, a fuel duty freeze and a much-needed – and expected – extension of the energy bills support scheme.

Our panel of academic experts were at the ready as Hunt started his announcement and have provided their thoughts on how the budget could affect the economy and your bills, as well as digging into the detail on issues such as energy sector investment, Hunt’s 12 new investment zones and the lack of attention paid to the NHS (aside from doctors’ pensions, that is). Keep an eye out for more from us in the coming days.

Labour leader Keir Starmer was also able to make his thoughts on the budget known straight away, providing an immediate response to parliament in which he called the plan a “sticking plaster”. We asked an historian from Newcastle University about what else a government-in-waiting should do at a time like this.

And if a government budget statement isn’t mind-boggling enough for you, try to wrap your head around the concept that we live in an Everything Everywhere-style multiverse – and for extra credit have a listen to part two of our Great Mysteries of Physics podcast series on how the multiverse theory explains why there is life.

Pauline McCallion

Senior Business Editor

UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt outside 11 Downing Street in London before presenting the latest government budget to Parliament. Tolga Akmen/EPA-EFE

Spring budget 2023: experts react to UK government’s plan to get the economy moving

Phil Tomlinson, University of Bath; Alan Shipman, The Open University; Andrew Burlinson, University of East Anglia; Catherine Waddams, University of East Anglia; Gavin Midgley, University of Surrey; Jim Watson, UCL; Karen Bloor, University of York; Karl Matikonis, Queen's University Belfast; Steven McCabe, Birmingham City University

Childcare, pensions and support for energy bills are among the main budget plans for the UK government.

Alamy/Stefan Rousseau

Keir Starmer: four lessons from history for an opposition trying to be the ‘government-in-waiting’

Martin Farr, Newcastle University

He’s a man on five missions but he’ll need to learn from his predecessors to lead Labour back to power after over a decade out of it.

Do universes pop up as bubbles from a multiverse? arda savasciogullari/Shutterstock

The multiverse: our universe is suspiciously unlikely to exist – unless it is one of many

Martin Rees, University of Cambridge

In the multiverse, a few universes should, statistically speaking, be life-friendly.

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