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The austerity illusion: unmasking the Labour government’s betrayal
Instead of responding to changed circumstances by adjusting policy, Reeves is using fiscal ‘rules’ as an excuse to force government departments to make even deeper cuts than she had already flagged, says CLAUDIA WEBBE
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference at the QEII Centre, London, November 25, 2024

RACHEL REEVES is planning to cut public services even more deeply than she had already trailed, according to government officials briefing the press, supposedly a response to the soaring cost of borrowing and the recent fall in the value of the pound.

Reeves has ruled out any increase in government borrowing or tax increases and claims the cuts are necessary because her “fiscal rules” are “non-negotiable” and a “red line” amid concerns that she will be unable to meet the arbitrary debt and spending targets she set herself as Chancellor.

Speaking on Reeves’s behalf, a Treasury spokesperson was explicit: “If we have to choose between raising taxes and cutting spending, we will cut spending.”

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