The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has made a bold statement accusing her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, of intentionally misleading the public about the state of the UK’s finances. In the wake of her announcement of proposed spending cuts on Monday, Reeves expressed her outrage at the £22 billion funding deficit left by the previous Conservative government.
During an interview with Sky News, Reeves declared, “Jeremy Hunt deliberately concealed the true state of the public finances from both the House of Commons and the citizens of this country. He knowingly and willfully lied about the situation.” She went on to assert that the Conservatives had also lied about tax cuts during the election campaign, despite being fully aware of the existing deficit.
Her strong words were met with a response from Hunt, who expressed his disappointment and stated, “I thought more highly of Rachel Reeves, and I actually praised her on election night for being a committed civil servant. I believe she can do better than this.” He also pointed out that her accusations were unfounded and did not reflect well on the political climate.
While Reeves stopped short of directly calling Hunt a liar during her speech in the House of Commons on Monday, she did not hold back during her interview with Sky News the following morning. She reiterated her stance and emphasized that the previous government had not provided a remit for the independent pay review bodies, which advise the government on appropriate salaries for public sector employees.
According to Reeves, the cost of implementing the recommendations from these bodies amounts to £9.4 billion, and she has asked government departments to absorb £3.2 billion to reduce the overall cost. She stressed that this is necessary to address issues with recruitment and retention in essential areas such as the armed forces and the NHS.
In addition to halting the winter fuel payment for some pensioners, Reeves warned that there would be more challenging decisions to come in the autumn. She clarified that these decisions are not targeted at any particular group, but rather a necessary step to improve the state of the country’s public finances.
In conclusion, the chancellor acknowledged the difficulty of the choices she has had to make but emphasized the importance of getting a handle on public spending. She stated, “It was crucial to make these decisions now to put our public finances on a more solid foundation and to take control of our spending.”
