Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been dubbed “silly” for attempting to shift blame for Labour’s upcoming fiscal decisions on the long-term impact of Brexit.
Giving a verdict on the upcoming Budget, The Spectator’s economics editor, Michael Simmons, blasted Ms Reeves for blaming the economic challenges on the 2016 vote.
“She knew about all of this when she took office! It makes her look silly,” he told GB News star Patrick Christys.
He added: “I think it’s bizarre to blame all these things Brexit, the pandemic or whatever.
Rachel Reeves has assigned blame to a multitude of factors for the dire economic forecast
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GB NEWS/PA
“Because she knew about those things when she took office. She could have saw it this out in the first Budget.”
In October, Ms Reeves highlighted the “long-term” damage done to the British economy by Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, giving her penny’s worth at a key international economic committee at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
She told chief bankers and economic gurus: “The UK’s productivity challenge has been compounded by the way in which the UK left the European Union.”
Since rising to power, Labour’s top team has committed to resetting EU relations, launching negotiations in May earlier this year.
Today, Ms Reeves attempted to steer the blame on a number of factors, from Brexit to the Tories’ lasting economic legacy trickling into Labour’s reign.
Delivering the unprecedented pre-Budget speech in the heart of Westminster this morning, the Chancellor refused to rule out slapping Britons with a fresh wave of tax raids.
As a result, the nation is bracing for the upcoming Budget on November 26 after she announced a £40billion tax raid last October.
Yet, throughout the General Election campaign, Labour candidates vowed to not raise VAT, income tax or National Insurance if Sir Keir Starmer was handed the keys to No10.
Responding to the Downing Street speech on Tuesday morning, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dubbed it “one long waffle bomb” and a “laundry list of excuses”.
“She blamed everybody else for her own choices, her own decisions, her own failures,” Mrs Badenoch slammed.
First, No11 attempted to pin blame on the Tories, Liz Truss’ infamous mini-Budget and Brexit.
Ms Reeves also implied the blame lies with Donald Trump by mentioning that the “threat of tariffs has dragged on global confidence”.