The government’s decision to raise taxes in the Autumn Budget, including a so-called “mansion” levy, has sparked criticism, with opponents arguing the move was unnecessary given the current economic outlook.
Now Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on chancellor Rachel Reeves to resign, accusing her of painting an unnecessarily gloomy economic picture and misleading the public about the size of the so-called “economic black hole.”
Reeves has defended her record, insisting that she has been “clear” about the reasons for her decisions. Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reeves was challenged over warnings she issued about a potential downgrade to the UK’s economic productivity forecasts. She said she did not “accept” that her comments were misleading and stressed she had remained “upfront” about all her plans both in the past week and in the run-up to the general election.
It has since emerged that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) informed Reeves in mid-September that public finances were in better shape than widely reported.
Badenoch, also appearing on the programme, said she was “absolutely not” satisfied with the chancellor’s explanation and called on her to resign. She argued that Reeves had used an overly pessimistic portrayal of public finances as a “smokescreen” to justify tax increases, claiming the chancellor had “lied to the public.”
“The chancellor called an emergency press conference telling everyone how terrible the state of the finances was, but the OBR was telling her the complete opposite,” Badenoch said. “She raised taxes to pay for welfare—the only thing that was unfunded was the welfare payments she made—and she’s doing it on the backs of people working very hard and getting poorer. Because of that, I believe she should resign.”
Badenoch confirmed that her shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, has written to the Financial Conduct Authority calling for an investigation, accusing Reeves of attempting to “pitchroll” the Budget, which could constitute “market manipulation.”
Downing Street has rejected the Conservative accusations, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to back Reeves’ Budget decisions in a speech today, arguing they will help tackle cost-of-living pressures and reduce inflation.
