Embattled Rachel Reeves opens door to emergency spending cuts as market chaos piles pressure on public finances
RACHEL Reeves has opened the door to emergency spending cuts as market chaos piles pressure on public finances.
The embattled Chancellor yesterday came out fighting as she defended her controversial trip to China while Britain’s economy took a battering.
She blamed “global markets” for the record spike in UK debt interest payments, dismissing Tory claims that her Budget caused the surge.
But with interest repayments soaring, Ms Reeves hinted public services could face imminent cuts as she vowed to stick to her strict financial rules “at all times.”
These rules require the Government to cover everyday spending through taxes and bring down debt — but rising borrowing costs have left little room to manoeuvre, with forecasts suggesting she could breach them.
Facing down MPs in the Commons, Ms Reeves said she would address concerns over the state of the public purse in March after the Office for Budget Responsibility’s next update.
Asked if she might slash spending, she said: “We will meet our fiscal rules that I set out in the budget, and we will do that at all times.”
Pressed on whether the March 26 forecasts could trigger an emergency Budget, she insisted: “I’m committed to having just one budget a year to provide businesses with the certainty that they need.”
Downing Street also did not rule out an emergency Budget, with the PM’s spokesman saying: “No one should be under any doubt of the Chancellor’s commitment to economic stability and sound public finances.”
The Chancellor’s comments came as she was grilled over her China trip, defending it as vital to boost UK investment.
But Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride accused her of “scampering around the world with a begging bowl” while markets tanked back home.
Comparing her position to a Shakespearean tragedy, he quipped: “To go or not to go? That is now a question.”
The unfazed Chancellor was seen laughing with Labour frontbenchers as Mr Stride tore into her handling of the economy.
The Tories blasted on X: “Labour think that losing control of the public finances, and sending the economy into crisis, is a laughing matter… Shameful.”