Reeves put on notice as jobless figures spike – ‘worst for 5 years’ | Politics | News
The unemployment crisis in the UK has deepened as the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 5% and vacancies fell to the lowest level in five years. In response, the Conservative Party branded the upset as a grave indictment of Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ economic records. Official statistics show the unemployment rate has risen to 5 percent as the Iran war hammers an already under pressure job market.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said: “The current Government is on its knees. It may not be too long for this world.” These figures also showed a slowdown in wage growth as vacancies fell due to a sharp decline in hiring in the hard-hit retail and hospitality sectors. The Office for National Statistics estimated that Britain shed around 100,000 jobs in April; this was the biggest decline since the peak of the Covid epidemic in May 2020.
Sir Mel weighed in on the figures and warned Ms Reeves that the UK now owes more money than any other major western economy. he called it a “very significant premium” and branded the shock “a damning decision by the markets towards the current government”.
Sir Mel said Ms Reeves’s decisions had “serious consequences for all of us” and warned that it was “costing us billions of dollars more in debt interest” and that the “chaos surrounding the Labor leadership” was making matters worse.
The Tory grand leader also criticized the “Burnham penalty”, warning that panic and uncertainty over the Mayor of Manchester’s candidacy for Prime Minister would cost taxpayers £5.4bn, or £300 for every family in the country.
He said: “Andy Burnham is already costing us all money before the by-election notice is even served.”
In a speech in central London, he warned there was “a deeper problem with economic and fiscal policy in our country”, where politicians “often complain about reckless borrowing, often with those same politicians having nothing concrete to say about what to do about it”.
Helen Whately MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “This is further evidence of Labor’s complete failure in government. Labor came into office without a plan and are now in open civil war as the country cries out for serious leadership.”
He said Labor was “bringing the country back to the same negative trend it has been on since coming to power, with unemployment rising every month”.
As for Mr Burnham, he warned: “They may change their leaders but the party is still the same old Labour.”
But the Government welcomed the figures, with a spokesman saying: “Today’s figures show 416,000 more people are in work than this time last year. While this is encouraging, we also know that conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over the labor market.”
He added: “Thanks to the choices we have made, we are in a stronger position to deal with the costs of ongoing turmoil and war in Iran, and our economy was the fastest growing among the G7 countries in Europe last year.”
