BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg skewers Rachel Reeves in TV clash | Politics | News
Rachel Reeves was skewered for giving boring answers to viewers.
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg interrupted the Chancellor as he answered a question about the Budget on a Sunday morning programme.
The presenter was pressing Ms Reeves on her impression that she had “no choice” but to tax Brits ahead of the budget because the economy was “cash-strapped”.
Ms Reeves responded by saying her priorities were to reduce waiting lists on the NHS, reduce living costs and reduce debt and borrowing.
Ms. Kuenssberg interrupted the Chancellor for giving an answer that would make viewers “fall asleep in their cereal.”
It comes amid a growing row over pre-Budget speculation that it faces a gap of as much as £20bn in meeting its fiscal rules, partly as a result of a drop in productivity forecasts.
Those rumors were fueled when Ms. Reeves suggested in a speech on November 4 that tax increases were needed because weak productivity growth would have “consequences for the public finances.”
But the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said on Friday that it had informed the Chancellor as early as September 17 that improved tax collections from rising wages and inflation meant the deficit was likely smaller than initially expected, and by October it had been eliminated entirely.
The OBR’s statement led opposition figures to call on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate whether the Treasury was deceiving the public.
Downing Street rallied around Ms Reeves and a source said: “No 10 was aware of the content of the speech, which we believe completely accurately outlines the need to raise revenues.
“The idea that there is a misleading notion of the need to raise significant revenue as a result of the OBR figures, including the productivity decline they contain, is simply untrue.”
The source also said Number 10 was aware of the situation. OBR “figures that demonstrate the need to raise significant revenue to meet our commitments and capture the desired headroom.
“These figures reflected the following situation: OBRs decreased productivity. Then the right choices were made to stabilize public finances by creating more headroom, reduce energy bills and tackle child poverty.”
they said OBR The estimate did not take into account spending increases resulting from the removal of the two-child benefit limit, U-turns on winter fuel payments and benefit cuts.
To spice things up, Sir Keir will give a speech on Monday to support Ms Reeves’ decisions on the Budget and unveil her long-term growth plans.
