Liz Truss finance minister’s assault on Rachel Reeves backfires spectacularly

A Tory shadow minister who was finance minister when Liz Truss crashed the economy made an ill-advised bid to attack Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves – and it backfired spectacularly.

Andrew Griffith was Financial Secretary to the Treasury at the time of Ms Truss’ disastrous mini budget – and has been brought back as shadow business secretary by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

Last night, he posted a Tory attack video showing a picture of No11 Downing Street, and asking in large letters: “Where is Rachel Reeves?”

It was quickly pointed out that had Mr Griffith looked at a television, newspaper or any online media over the preceding day or so, he’d know she was in Beijing meeting her Chinese counterpart Lan Fo’an.

The Chancellor visited bicycle-maker Brompton’s flagship Beijing store before the meeting.

And she vowed to stand behind her “non-negotiable” fiscal rules, as turmoil in global markets threatened to push up mortgage bills.

It comes as Ms Reeves came under attack from Tory shadow ministers, many of whom were in government when the Conservatives crashed the UK economy in 2022.

The trip is part of the Labour Government’s push for greater engagement with Beijing, after a freezing of relations under previous Conservative prime ministers.

Accompanied by a delegation including Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and Financial Conduct Authority chief executive Nikhil Rathi, Ms Reeves met Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng on Saturday for the first UK-China economic and financial dialogue since 2019.

Hailing the meeting as a “significant milestone” in UK-China relations, the Chancellor called for more trade and investment between the two countries against a “more complex and more challenging” geopolitical background.

She said: “We must seize this opportunity to set a course for a stable and mutually beneficial relationship with one another.”

Ms Reeves declined to give a running commentary on the financial markets in the UK, but said the rules she set for herself in October were essential for economic stability.

She said: “The fiscal rules laid out in the Budget are non-negotiable. Economic stability is the bedrock for economic growth and prosperity.”

The rise in gilt yields to their highest level since 2008, effectively increasing the cost of government borrowing, sparked concern this week that the Chancellor would be unable to meet her rules on debt and spending without imposing deeper cuts than she had already planned.

As well as resetting relations with Beijing, the new Government has promised to “challenge” China where necessary, amid long-standing human rights concerns about the treatment of Uighur Muslims, constraints on freedoms in Hong Kong and its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

When asked by reporters in Beijing if closer ties to China carried any risk for the UK, Ms Reeves said: “We need to make sure we have a pragmatic and good relationship with countries around the world. That is in our national interest.

“It’s what our allies around the world do and it’s what I will be pursuing as Chancellor, always acting in the national interest while looking to help British businesses export overseas.”

After her meetings in Beijing, Ms Reeves is expected to travel to Shanghai.