Rachel Reeves is mocked in AI video game called ‘Grand Theft Austerity’ ahead of Budget
The Chancellor has been mocked in a new AI video game called ‘Grand Theft Austerity’.
The video, produced by the same group on the back of similar comedic content satirising Rachel Reeves and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, comes ahead of Wednesday’s budget as Brits brace for a series of tax rises.
In the clip shared by X on Crewkerne NewspaperGenerated by artificial intelligence, Reeves can be seen promoting the new video game known as ‘Grand Theft Austerity’ at a conference.
Reeves is then shown inside the video game, which is loosely inspired by the popular Grand Theft Auto video game series; here it ‘stands majestically outside Westminster and does absolutely nothing about the economy’.
Players are then encouraged to ‘feel the thrill of financial responsibility’ when they beat up non-player characters (NPCs) to get money off them.
‘Each crash increases government revenue by 3 per cent, we call it a sustainable growth plan,’ continues the computer-generated Reeves.
‘Reeves’ then takes a less traditional form of taxation by shooting a pigeon and taking their money.
The player is then taken to the House of Commons, where Reeves will address MPs, who sit on the chamber’s famous green benches.
In the clip shared by Crewkerne Gazette on X, the AI-generated Reeves can be seen at a conference introducing the new video game known as ‘Grand Theft Austerity’.
‘Reeves’ is then shown inside the video game – loosely based on the popular Grand Theft Auto video game series – where he can tax non-player characters (NPCs) by beating them up and taking their money
There are a number of dialogue options, such as ‘Raise taxes but blame the last government’ and ‘Copy and paste from the IMF report’.
There is also a barber shop in-game where the Chancellor’s hair can be styled into styles such as the ‘austerity fringe’ or the ‘administrative error’ haircut.
‘So whether you’re in financial chaos, committing petty fraud or hitting wildlife with a billboard. Grand Theft Austerity is the game just for you.
‘It’s currently available in nine monthly installments for £39.99, or whatever I decide in Wednesday’s budget, and remember that in this economy every penny counts, especially your penny,’ AI Reeves said.
The video comes just ahead of the Chancellor’s highly anticipated budget, where Reeves will put an end to months of rumors and briefings about possible new taxes.
Uncertainty caused by speculation is considered to be stalling economic growth, causing ‘paralysis’ among UK businesses and consumers.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle even mocked the ‘hockey-coke’ Budget process following Ms Reeves’ chaotic U-turn on income tax.
Earlier this month the Chancellor laid the groundwork for a manifesto-busting increase in income tax rates.
Reeves then engages in a less traditional form of taxation by shooting a pigeon and taking their money.
There is also a barber shop in-game where the Chancellor’s hair can be styled into styles such as an ‘austerity fringe’ or an ‘administrative error’ haircut.
But it later emerged that he had canceled plans to increase income tax rates by 2p and cut National Insurance by the same amount.
Instead, he is expected to announce a ‘buffet’ of other tax rises as he seeks to plug a multi-billion pound gap in the public finances.
Taxes Reeves is expected to announce include a new ‘mansion tax’ worth an average of £4,500, a crackdown on workplace pensions and a 3p per mile tax on electric vehicles (EVs).
Crewkerne Gazette is behind other viral clips mocking Reeves for breaking the law by renting his family’s home without a licence.
In this clip, which showed Reeves bragging about the violation, there was a sign that read ‘I don’t have a license.’
In September, the group released its first viral skit after former Deputy Chancellor Angela Rayner was forced to resign after it was revealed she had not paid enough stamp duty on a house she owned in Brighton.
‘How Many Houses Can Rayner Buy?’ In the clip titled – Ms. Rayner, 45, wears a fur coat over tracksuits.
He is also shown the £40,000 wad of cash in which he admits he underpaid stamp duty on an £800,000 seaside flat he bought in Hove in May.
In the computer-generated video, Rayner says: ‘You bought me a house, you bought me two houses; flip another flat, the taxman has no idea; £80k saved with Brighton tan; I shirk more duties than the average man.
Inspired by AI, Angela adds on the delivery box: ‘How many houses are there, I will name them all; Big Ange dances in the House of Commons; The taxman is crying, Rayner is smiling; There’s a rule for me, there’s no rule for you!’
Ms Rayner is also seen dancing wildly in front of for sale signs as cash rains from the sky and then smoking two cigarettes in a rubber boat overflowing with cash.
