Rachel Reeves made her name talking about the so-called £22bn blackhole created by the Tories. Just when she and Keir should have been talking up the UK – and putting those who invest in the country at ease with Labour at the helm – they were claiming that the Tories had gotten us into some serious hock.
Now the Chancellor has some serious egg on her face. Reeves is under fire yet again today for her handling of the economy as a watchdog laid bare Britain’s growing debt problem. This morning the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that from April 2024 to April 2025 public sector net borrowing was £151.9 billion.
I will put my hands up here as I know that the Tories didn’t have a great record with debt. However Reeves has managed to flitter away £20.7 billion more than in the previous year. In fact Reeves’ shocking incompetence has delivered a figure which is actually the third highest total on record – and it has increased for the first time since Covid. That’s not all. Yesterday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prompted fresh panic for Labour when it downgraded Britain’s growth forecast for this year.
Of course, Tories have been quick to slam Reeves on this latest bombshell with Shadow Chancellor, Mel Stride, saying it was the “consequences of Labour’s high-tax, high-spend agenda.”
But will Reeves be as furious and vocal about this new black hole, dug by her own far hands? Will she Nelly. Shadow Trade & Business Secretary Andrew Griffith summarised the situation quite succinctly.
He said: “The Chancellor is in Washington when what she should really be doing is getting a grip on spending back home.”
Sadly for Reeves numbers don’t lie – and no amount of weird robotic soundbites can help her. Debt has risen, growth is collapsing and in my view if this is stability under Labour God help us all.