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Rachel Reeves accuses Jeremy Hunt of lying about the ‘true state’ of UK finances | Politics News
Rachel Reeves stopped short of calling Jeremy Hunt a liar in the House of Commons yesterday as she made her first major economic speech – but she didn’t hold back when speaking to Sky News today.
By Alix Culbertson, Political Reporter @alixculbertson
Tuesday, 30 July 2024 09:10, United Kingdom
The Chancellor said her predecessor Jeremy Hunt had “lied” when she accused him of deliberately covering up the truth about the state of the UK’s finances.
After announcing a raft of spending cuts on Monday, Rachel Reeves said it was “inexcusable” that the Conservatives had left a £22bn funding black hole.
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She told Sky News: “Jeremy Hunt concealed from the House of Commons and the country the true state of the public finances. He did this knowingly and deliberately.
“He lied. And they lied during the election campaign about the state of public finances.”
Ms Reeves added that the Conservatives promised tax cuts during the campaign “knowing there was already a £22 billion black hole in the public finances”.
“It’s beyond reckless and irresponsible,” she said.
“It is unforgivable and they should never again be allowed access to power and our public finances.”
Mr Hunt said he was “of course” angry at being called a liar, but told Sky News: “I’m more disappointed than anything else.”
He added: “I thought very highly of Rachel Reeves. In fact, I praised her on election night for being a committed public servant.
“I think she can do better than that.
“I find it very disappointing that the new government is choosing to do politics in this way. I think it really discredits politics when people call each other liars.”
Reeves’ argument is “not credible”
Ms. Reeves did not actually call Mr. Hunt a liar during her speech in the House of Commons yesterday, where calling a deputy a liar could lead to suspension.
But she didn’t hold back when speaking to Sky News this morning.
Read more:
Analysis: Chancellor’s spending cuts
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Ms Reeves reinforced the claim by telling Sky News that the Conservative government had failed to give independent pay review bodies a say in what was affordable this year.
The bodies advise the government on how much public sector workers, such as those in the NHS, should receive each year after receiving government remittances – which are not bound by the recommendations.
Ms Reeves said she “didn’t know until I became Chancellor” that the previous government had not provided an accessibility mandate.
She said the cost of implementing pay review bodies’ recommendations was £9.4 billion and called on government departments to absorb £3.2 billion to reduce the cost of resolving disputes with public sector workers.
“But the alternative is a situation where we continue to struggle to recruit and retain soldiers and officers in our armed forces, where we continue to struggle to recruit doctors and nurses in our NHS and where we struggle to retain public sector workers,” she said.
“And that also has a cost.”
What cuts did the chancellor announce?
Ms Reeves admitted she had to make “difficult decisions” on Monday, including suspending winter fuel payments for some pensioners to save £1.5 billion a year.
She warned: “There are harder choices to come. I’m not singling out any group.
“There will be more difficult choices in the autumn, but it was important to make this choice yesterday to put our public finances on a firmer footing and control public spending.”