Shadow chancellor says an incoming Labour government could not afford to axe benefit cap because of ‘dire economic inheritance’
Good morning. Yesterday Keir Starmer delivered an uncompromising message, at shadow cabinet and at the Tony Blair Institute conference, to critics in his party unhappy about his declaration that the two-child benefit cap will have to stay. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, was on the Today programme this morning and, while she did not contradict her leader, she presented Labour’s stance in a very different manner.
Tackling child poverty would be a priority, she said. She told the programme:
Tackling child poverty is in Labour’s DNA. When we were last in government, under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, hundreds of thousands of children and pensioners were lifted out of poverty. Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson set out our opportunity mission just a couple of weeks ago. Child poverty was at the heart of that.
The truth is there’s more than six things that an incoming Labour government won’t be able to do. We’re going to have the most dire economic inheritance of any incoming government. The level of debt in the UK economy is the same size as everything we produce in the economy on an annual basis. Our interest rates and inflation are a staggering high levels and our economy is barely growing. It’s barely grown these last 13 years …
It is our duty to get control of the public finances and ensure we’ve got a stable economy. It’s not a ‘nice to have’, it is the rock of stability upon which all other policies have to be built. There will be nothing in a Labour manifesto there’s not fully costed and fully funded.
Tackling child poverty is in Labour’s DNA. When we were last in government, under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, hundreds of thousands of children and pensioners were lifted out of poverty. Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson set out our opportunity mission just a couple of weeks ago. Child poverty was at the heart of that.
