UK
Reeves Leaves Door Open to UK Debt Move to Free Up Billions
- Chancellor refuses to stick by pledge not to change debt gauge
- Tories say Labour planning more borrowing ‘by the back door’
Rachel Reeves
Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves is refusing to recommit to a pledge made in November not to change her debt target amid speculation she is preparing to ramp up borrowing to fill a £16.4 billion ($21 billion) hole in the public finances.
Reeves desperately needs some money after claiming this week that the previous Conservative government bequeathed her a litany of “unfunded and undisclosed” spending commitments. She has already warned that taxes will need to rise in October when she delivers the first budget of the new Labour government.