UK finances are a mess and Tories and Labour keeping public in the dark, says IFS

Institute of Fiscal Studies also dismissive of plans by Lib Dems, Greens and - in particular - Reform UK

Britain's public finances are in a mess. Difficult decisions loom once the election is over. But the public is being kept in the dark about what might happen.

That, put briefly, was the gist of what the Institute for Fiscal Studies had to say about the Conservative and Labour party manifestos. The thinktank was also pretty dismissive about the plans of the smaller parties: the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and - in particular - Reform UK.