Rachel Reeves has wriggled out of her promise of “no further tax hikes” at every opportunity, refusing to recommit in the Commons today. The Chancellor claimed at the CBI conference last week that she wouldn’t “come back for more” after a £25 billion National Insurance raid. She refused to repeat that promise not once, but four times during Treasury Questions…
Tory MP Nick Timothy asked her point-blank to rule out any future tax increases, as she did last week. Reeves dodged the question and blamed the infamous black hole for her “necessary” measures. Mel Stride pushed her on the same point twice, asking if she’d “come back for more”. Again, no dice. When Richard Fuller took another swing at the question, Reeves again refused to repeat her previous promise, claiming instead that Labour wouldn’t “repeat a Budget like that.” That’s not a no…
Meanwhile, a Treasury spokesperson last week also refused to repeat Reeves’s CBI commitment when pressed. “No more tax rises” is quickly shaping up to be the new no tax hikes for “working people”…
Robert Jenrick told a rally on Monday:
“They say Chancellors are either undertakers or bookies. This one is an ostrich – and when the Chancellor buries his head in the sand, the rest of us, we’re left staring at his you know what.”