Rachel Reeves says Tories ‘lied about public finances’ as she defends her response to £22bn spending shortfall – UK politics live

The chancellor and shadow chancellor are both on this morning’s media roundMishal Husain is interview Rachel Reeves on the Today programme now.Q: Do you accept that part of the £22bn black hole comes from decisions you made, on public sector pay?After the statement made in the House of Commons today, I am writing to follow up with deep concern over some of the conflicting claims that have been made which risk bringing the civil service into disrepute.It is deeply troubling that the chancellor has today chosen to make claims about the public finances to the House of Commons which directly contradict the documents and legislation the new government put before parliament, signed off by senior civil servant accounting officers.The government laid main estimates for 2024-25 before parliament on 18 July, the earliest available opportunity after the general election and considerably later than the usual timetable. These estimates were prepared before the general election, and the government was forced to lay them unchanged in order to allow them to be voted on before the summer recess. This was necessary to avoid departments experiencing cash shortages over the summer. The pressures set out in this document represent a more realistic assessment of DEL spending. As usual, departmental spending limits will be finalised at supplementary estimates. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/jul/30/rachel-reeves-uk-economy-labour-tories-jeremy-hunt-uk-politics

Author : Andrew Sparrow

Publish date : 2024-07-30 07:14:30

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