Andy Burnham has sacked Rachel Reeves as Chancellor and appointed John Healey, a move that has shocked political observers and is already sparking a rebellion within the Labour Party. The decision comes after two years of criticism over Reeves's economic record, including tax hikes, broken manifesto pledges, and rising unemployment.
Reeves's disastrous tenure
Harvey Jones, a longtime critic of Reeves, described her tenure as a series of calamitous errors. He highlighted the axing of the winter fuel payment for 10 million pensioners, which he said snatched up to £200 a year from single pensioners on as little as £11,343 a year. Reeves also raised employers' National Insurance by £25 billion, dubbed a "jobs tax," which crushed business margins and drove up unemployment. Her first Budget added £40 billion in taxes, breaking manifesto pledges, and her second Budget included a humiliating U-turn on income tax and another £26 billion in tax rises.
Jones noted that Reeves repeatedly claimed to have "restored stability" and "fixed the foundations" of the economy, but growth slowed while debt and deficit soared. She also faced scrutiny over her CV and acceptance of freebies. In a recent post on X, Reeves wrote that "the economy today is stronger, fairer and more resilient because of the choices we have taken as a Labour Government over the past two years. Stability restored, investment delivered and reform to our economy under way." She added that she would judge her time in office a success if the lives of ordinary working-class people had been improved.
Healey's appointment and Labour revolt
Jones expressed surprise at Burnham's choice of John Healey as Chancellor, describing him as a Westminster veteran and former Treasury minister who understands finance and avoids empty grandstanding. However, Healey faces a massive problem: the Labour Party itself. Burnham must marshal 403 mostly left-wing MPs who want to borrow and spend, and who may dismiss Healey as a right-wing shill. Left-wing websites are already in revolt, according to Jones.
Burnham also kept Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary, a move that has angered Labour MPs. Jones noted that while Mahmood may not have stopped the boats, she is the only Labour politician who has tried. The appointments signal a message that the wider left will hate, and Burnham's popularity is unlikely to last.
