Moment Rachel Reeves asked ‘how can you stay in your job’ live on Sky | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves attempted to defend her budget decisions when a Sky News reporter asked her: “How can you go about your job with a clear conscience?” The question arose when Reeves, surrounded by nurses, held a post-budget press conference when the reporter noted that he was extending the freeze on tax thresholds. But they recalled that he said during the 2024 Budget that extending the threshold freeze would hurt working people and result in more money being taken out of their paychecks.
“We made it very clear in the manifesto that it was income tax, National Insurance and VAT rates,” Reeves insisted. “But I won’t get into the semantics. I realize that by freezing these allowances we are asking people to contribute more. They were already frozen by the previous government from 2021 to 2028 and we are freezing them for another three years,” he said.
He admitted: “I am aware that I am asking ordinary people to pay a little more, but I have managed to keep this contribution as low as possible by closing the gaps and asking those with broad shoulders to pay more.
“There will therefore be a surcharge on properties valued at more than £2 million. This is why we are increasing taxes on savings, dividends and property income.
“That’s why we can get some of the waste and inefficiency in the welfare budget under control by taking luxury cars out of Motability and introducing more face-to-face assessments for disability benefits.
“That’s why we keep the contribution from working people as low as possible,” he reiterated. “And we’re cutting people £150 a year this year and next, cutting energy bills for entire families, working families and pensioners. And we can do that by removing those taxes from people’s bills.”
He then blamed the previous government for the decisions it made in the budget. “… If you are asking whether this has a cost to working people, I accept that it does. I said it in the budget last year. I will not claim the opposite today, but I think it is the right decision under the circumstances we are in.
“OPR has today revised its productivity and growth forecasts down by three percentage points. Otherwise, they say the £16bn of tax revenue we would bring in would be wiped out.
“And it is clear that this is not because of any decision the government has made in the last 16 months. What happened in the past 14 years: Brexit, the pandemic and frankly austerity and chaos previous government.
“We all have to pay a price for this, and it’s my job to make sure the numbers add up so we can grow our economy, lower interest rates and keep inflation low.”
