Rachel Reeves blasts Jeremy Hunt for hiding from MPs after recession introduced

Rachel Reeves blasted the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt for failing to show as much as face questions on the recession within the Commons.

The Shadow Chancellor could possibly be overheard asking “where is he?” as a extra junior Treasury minister, Bim Afolami, was despatched to discipline questions. She added: “You’re not the Chancellor”.

Official figures final week confirmed the economic system had plunged right into a recession after the economic system shrank by a worse-than-feared 0.3% within the last three months of final yr. The fall – after a 0.1% drop the earlier quarter – quantities to a technical recession.

Speaking within the Commons on Monday, Ms Reeves mentioned: “The Chancellor should be here in Parliament explaining why Britain has fallen into recession. “Can the minister clarify why he has been left to reply these questions and the place precisely is the Chancellor immediately?”

She added: “The Chancellor needs to be accountable to MPs and to our constituents and reply for his failure on this House. What an insult to all these individuals who go to work on daily basis and expertise the fact of 14 years of Conservative financial failure that he has merely failed to show up.”

In response Mr Afolami didn’t clarify the Chancellor’s absence however mentioned he was “perfectly entitled” to reply questions on his behalf. He mentioned: “But the main thrust of her remarks was on growth, and let me deal with those in detail. The first point to recognise is indeed the international context that we all find ourselves in.”

After groans from the Labour benches, the minister added: “Well, it happens to be true. For example, to describe that international context, 10 EU countries were in recession in 2023.” It is known Mr Hunt as an alternative attending a Cabinet assembly at No10 half an hour after the pressing query was scheduled to start out within the Commons.

During the session one Tory MP additionally additionally sought in charge the climate for the nation’s financial woes whereas denying the existence of a recession. Duncan Baker advised MPs within the chamber: “A point that absolutely no one has made is that in the last quarter of the year the Babet, Ciaran, Debi, Elin, Fergus and Gerrit – six major storms and floods the country saw.

“In the earlier yr what number of have been there? Absolutely none in any respect. Can the financial secretary inform everybody in fact you are not going to have an economic system functioning correctly within the grip of storms and floods each fortnight. And we’re not in recession, the extra we discuss it up, the extra we shall be”.

In response Labour’s Shadow Economic Secretary Tulip Siddiq said: “Duncan Baker’s comments show how out of touch the Conservatives are to the economic realities facing working people. Tory MPs have run out of people to blame for their own economic failure so they are left shouting at the clouds. It’s time for change. It’s time for change.”