Rachel Reeves Dumps Bad News Early to Clear Labour Path to Next UK Election

  • Reeves blames Tories for £21.9 billion spending black hole
  • Chancellor hints at more tax rises in October budget
Rachel Reeves in parliament on July 29.Photographer: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves made one thing clear in her audit of UK public spending on Monday. The new Labour government plans to front-load the bad news, leaving as much time as possible to repair and rebuild the economy before the next election in five years’ time.

During the election campaign, Reeves promised the British public she would always level with them and now in office, has wasted little time. Just over three weeks into the job, she said the outgoing Tory administration had bequeathed her £21.9 billion ($28.2 billion) of “unfunded and undisclosed” spending commitment, before outlining a series of measures to address the budgetary pressures.