In a blistering response to the Chancellor's Spring Statement, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has denounced Jeremy Hunt's budget as a "desperate" final gambit from a "pathetic" Conservative government.
Reeves launched a fierce attack in the House of Commons, accusing the Tories of delivering "panicked, unfunded spending promises" that threaten the country's financial stability. She framed the budget not as a measure for growth, but as a "last roll of the dice" for a party staring down electoral defeat.
A Budget of Broken Promises and Fiscal Fiction
The Labour frontbencher dismantled the government's central claim of lowering the tax burden, pointing out the stark reality for millions of workers. "The Chancellor claims taxes are falling," she stated, "but the British people know the truth. They are facing the highest tax burden in 70 years."
She highlighted the government's record of implementing 25 tax rises since the last election, framing the 2p cut to National Insurance as a meagre offering that fails to compensate for years of fiscal pain and frozen tax thresholds.
Labour's Alternative Vision
Positioning Labour as the party of fiscal responsibility and serious economic planning, Reeves promised a stark contrast. She pledged that an incoming Labour government would be "pro-business and pro-worker," focusing on solid foundations for growth rather than short-term, unfunded giveaways.
Her rebuttal underscored a fundamental choice for the electorate: five more years of what she termed "chaos and decline" under the Conservatives, or a "decade of national renewal" under a changed Labour party.
Reeves concluded by warning that the budget's promises were built on a foundation of "fiscal fiction," with billions of pounds in unspecified spending cuts looming after the next election, a prospect she labelled a "dishonest" approach to governance.
