The dead tree press has already had fun with Rachel Reeves claiming to Harvard students last night that she doesn’t regret her tax rises. Nobody has spotted that in the same Q&A, she also takes credit for childcare policies that were actually introduced by her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt. In fact, apparently she’s really “proud” of them because one of her goals was to do her job through a “gendered” lens. And then cites a policy introduced by a bloke…
“I tried as Chancellor to have a sort of gender lens on my policies… now there’s no reason why a male Chancellor couldn’t prioritise some of the things that I prioritised, but I’m not sure if any ever did… the childcare policies that I funded, 30 hours of free childcare for children between nine months and five years old… so I’m really proud of that.”
She’s “not sure” if any male Chancellors implemented the kind of policies she prioritised. Not to worry, Guido is very sure. Jeremy Hunt announced the policy Reeves is proud to have “funded” (a clever fudge to use that word, well done) in his Spring Budget in March 2023. It was phased in from April 2024 before reaching the full 30 hours in September 2025. She is happy to have “funded” it to the exact phased timetable Hunt had already outlined in 2023…
Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked John Healey: “Just finally, I mean Andy Burnham has been very clear he wants Britain back in the European Union in his lifetime. Do you?”
The Chancellor replied: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that.”