Rachel Reeves is “badly out of her depth” and has driven the British economy “off a cliff”, according to Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride in a devastating verdict on his Labour opposite number.
Mr Stride accused the Chancellor of delivering a “slap in the face” by unleashing “tax and borrowing horrors” that were not in the election manifesto.
His attack comes as Ms Reeves prepares for a major speech on Wednesday in which she will set out plans to revive the economy. She is expected to describe how she plans to turbo-charge infrastructure development – and this could include controversial plans to expand airports.
Mr Stride branded this an “emergency reset”, saying: “Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have driven the British economy off a cliff. They took us from the top of the G7 growth league right down to the relegation zone.
“And it’s working people paying the price.”
Adamant that Labour has itself to blame, he said: “In just six short months, they have raised taxes to record levels, punished small businesses, seen inflation rise, sent borrowing costs to a 27-year high and destroyed jobs.”
Britain’s economic reputation, he said, is “in tatters”. Government borrowing hit £17.8billion last month – the highest level for December in four years.
The latest growth figure show the economy grew by just 0.1% in November after shrinking in September and October. Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has said it will cut 3,000 jobs and insolvency specialists have warned of a record jump in businesses in “critical financial distress”.
Mr Stride admitted the Conservatives did not “get everything right” when they were in power from 2010 to 2024 but he said “Rachel Reeves has not been straight with the British people” and accused Labour of waging a “war on business”.
He said: “What takes it from economic incompetence to a slap in the face is that no one knew about the tax and borrowing horrors that were coming their way.
“Before they got in to power, Labour promised not to raise taxes on working people, but they raised the only tax specifically linked to work.”
He blamed the absence of strong growth on “politically motivated choices made in Downing Street,” describing Ms Reeves as a “Chancellor badly out of her depth and who appears incapable of changing course. A Chancellor whose disastrous tenure is costing far too many of us far too much”.
