Watching Rachel Reeves squirm while being interrogated on ITV over her acceptance of free tickets to see Sabrina Carpenter at The O2 was the lowest of the low points of this Government, and there have been many.
Although Reeves ended the interview promising that she wouldn’t accept any more freebies, unless they were connected to her work, it was her desperate defence that stuck in the craw.
Reeves explained that she took the £600 tickets because now that she is Chancellor she needs special security.
How about buying the tickets from the website, along with those for her security officers, and paying by credit card like anybody else? That’s the appropriate thing for any decent high-profile person to do.
Yet the sneaky way in which Reeves – and other Labour ministers – are constantly laying the blame for their actions at the feet of others is fast becoming the defining feature of this Government. It’s a nasty habit, and a deeply dangerous one that could come back to haunt them because they will lose voters’ respect.
First she blamed the Tories for inheriting a trashed economy, even though, as new figures now show, the economy was actually doing rather nicely. Then she blamed Donald Trump for tariffs and a ‘changing world’ for having to readjust her numbers in this week’s not so springy statement, one which saw £4.5billion sliced from benefits for those most vulnerable in society. Once again, she blamed the changing circumstances – adding President Putin and Ukraine into the mix.
Out of touch: Rachel Reeves is constantly laying the blame for her actions at the feet of others
This is La La Land. There are alternatives. Huge areas of welfare spending are ripe for reform such as housing benefits to the thousands who are sponging off the state.
She could have axed some of the billions going on Net Zero subsidies or trimmed the bill for housing asylum seekers.
Now Reeves is said to be looking at another round of tax raids, and once again it is the middle-class which will be hurt the most with potential taxes on pensions. It’s also self-defeating because even the threat of the tax is already causing households to withdraw savings to avoid higher rates.
But the final straw is the latest ruse that the HMRC will be given powers to access pay packets to take out interest earnings on savings that haven’t been declared. Now that takes us straight from La La Land to East German Stasi territory.
You can’t even blame some Labour MPs who have been calling for a wealth tax when they see disability payments cut. But they are misguided – the wealthy already pay hefty wealth taxes. They pay capital gains, inheritance tax, stamp duty on houses, stamp duty on equities, corporation tax and even trusts pay a fee. And it’s a tricky tax to value – is a Matisse worth £40m or £42m?
Does Labour really want to squeeze more pips out of the already squeezed middle class? If the Chancellor continues in this vein, she will be left with only the rind. So far, Reeves hasn’t come up with a single measure to promote growth.
Paradoxically, she may get her growth. But that will be the growth of the black and purple markets as more businesses – and individuals – turn to cash to avoid paying more tax. Who is to blame then?
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