With the countdown to the General Election on, Chancellor George Osborne sets out his financial plans for the penultimate time this parliament on Wednesday 3 December. The MJ will bring you all the latest news and analysis, before, during and after the event.
So to find out what this will mean for local government - the highs and the lows - follow us here on the website or on Twitter at @themjcouk
Autumn Statement 2014 coverage:
News
'Colossal' local government spending cuts to come
Unprotected areas of public spending – including local government budgets - face ‘cuts on a colossal scale’ in the next Parliament, the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank has warned.
Door is open for devolution deals, says Osborne
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, told local government his door was ‘open’ for more devolution as part of the Autumn Statement announced in Parliament today.
Further devolution deals fail to materialise
Chancellor George Osborne failed to announce any further devolution deals in today’s Autumn Statement.
Osborne claims deficit reduction remains on track
Chancellor George Osborne today told Parliament the deficit had been halved since 2010 and was falling, despite recent concerns the Treasury’s grip on retrenching public finances had been loosened.
Transport tax boost
Chancellor George Osborne has announced transport tax giveaways among major infrastructure plans designed for the next parliament including continuing the freeze in fuel duty.
Property experts hail business rates review
Property experts have hailed the chancellor for his pledge to hold a structural review of business rates in today’s Autumn Statement.
Welfare cap still fit, OBR confirms
Independent government economic forecasters have confirmed the Coalition remains on target to meeting its welfare cap commitment, chancellor George Osborne told MPs today.
Roads spending at heart of infrastructure plan
A £15bn spending plan for the strategic road network was at the heart of the infrastructure strategy in today’s Autumn Statement.
Osborne pushes through housing plan
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed major reforms designed to speed up house building and the release of public sector land in his Autumn Statement.
Unemployment rate to fall next year
The UK’s unemployment rate will fall to 5.4% next year, according to figures published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Pre statement coverage:
News
Council chiefs in Autumn Statement devolution plea to Osborne
More than 100 top English council leaders have written to chancellor George Osborne warning the sector cannot take ‘more of the same’ funding reductions in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement and demanding a new settlement in line with Scots.
Extra NHS cash causes political storm
Labour has accused the Conservatives of recycling money following George Osborne’s announcement of an extra £2bn for the NHS.
Don't dump flood defence funding on councils, committee chair urges
A senior Conservative MP has warned chancellor George Osborne to think twice before passing on responsibility for funding flood defences to local authorities.
CBI calls for rates reform
Bosses’ group the CBI has called on the chancellor to reform the current business rates regime, which it criticised as a ‘disincentive to company expansion’.
London Councils calls for more Troubled Families powers
London Councils has called for more powers to build on the boroughs’ success with turning troubled families around.
Call for fiscal and political devolution to come 'hand in hand'
Fiscal and political devolution must come ‘hand in hand’, The Infrastructure Forum has said in its Autumn Statement submission.
Call for business rate system overhaul
Town hall chiefs have called on the Government to let them be able to give business rate discounts to help small firms.
LGA to lead calls for devolution discussion
Council chiefs will lobby Treasury ministers in the coming weeks to begin immediate talks on financial devolution to local authorities at city region and county area level.
Opinion
We are in a financial straitjacket and it will only get tighter
There's still no money left, warns director of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executvies, Graeme McDonald.
A worrying trend towards self-suffiency
Treasurer at the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities, Frances Foster, says self-sufficiency is not a realistic approach for financing such a regionally imbalanced economy as our own.
Divided devolution
Sir Merrick Cockell says the chancellor's warm words for local government yesterday's Autumn Statement belied more painful cuts and a failure to properly tackle the question of English devolution.
A glance at the small print
Michael Burton scrutinises the Treasury documents accompanying yesterday's Autumn Statement to see what lies beneath the headline announcements.
Risks of retrenchment
The big risk to local government is that as cutbacks reduce services further, they expose themselves to new reputational, operational and financial jeopardy in these areas, writes Andrew Jepp.
How do you fill the NHS black hole?
If the next Government continues to cut local government funding and protect ring-fenced health budgets, the only feasible option is to hand all adult social care over to the NHS, writes Heather Jameson.
It's time for council leaders to step up to the plate
Leader of the Local Government Association's Labour group and Oldham MBC, Cllr Jim McMahon, says communities have never needed local leadership more.
Questioning the concept of austerity
With a week to go before the Autumn Statement and six months before the general election chancellor George Osborne’s room for fiscal manoeuvre is looking increasingly boxed in.
Autumn Statement should take a bow for Keynesian economics
The cycle of spending cuts will have to start again, as a type of eternal recurrence, writes Michael Burton.
Devolve and deliver
Gauging the pressures
Even if there is a slackening and the timetables are revised the pressure on spending won’t miraculously lift. What can UK authorities do as they await devolution resolutions, asks David Walker
Are our reserves good enough if the cuts kick-off?
Forget all the publicity over the John Lewis advert heralding the run-up to Christmas – November is way too early for that. The real countdown to the festive season follows the utterly misnamed Autumn Statement, writes Heather Jameson.
If the welfare cap fits, wear it
The MJ's features editor Jonathan Werran on the countdown to chancellor George Osborne's quite wintry Autumn Statement on 3 December.