Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted it would take time for a Labour government to turn Britain around, accusing the Conservatives of vandalising the economy over the past 14 years. Speaking before next week’s budget, Reeves said the party that wins the next election would have the worst inheritance of any incoming government since the war.
Reeves outlined Labour’s critique, noting that public debt as a share of national output is at its highest since the 1960s, debt interest payments are at their highest since WWII, taxes as a share of output are the highest since 1949, and the economy is smaller than when Rishi Sunak became prime minister. She added that the current parliament is on track to be the first where living standards, measured by real household disposable incomes, have fallen.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is finalising next Wednesday’s budget, with the Treasury managing expectations amid deteriorating public finance forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. Hunt is expected to claim the worst is over, but his room for manoeuvre is limited by fiscal rules.
Reeves called for a national mission to kickstart the economy, based on stability, investment, and reform. She rejected claims that Labour’s plan differs little from the Conservatives’, promising a real change with growth and prosperity.
