Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?
If the Labour Party had a two-word pitch going into the last general election, it was “economic credibility”. Rachel Reeves, the then shadow chancellor, said it at every turn. Labour was “the party of economic credibility”, said Ms Reeves in one interview. “Out of the wreckage of Tory misrule, Labour will restore our economic credibility,” declared the shadow chancellor in another speech. There would be no tax rises on working people, Ms Reeves told Middle England. There would be no spending cuts, she reassured her base. And there would be iron-clad fiscal rules, she warned one-and-all.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The credibility trap ”
Britain January 18th 2025
- Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
- David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
- Britain is becoming a well-mannered but deceitful society
- Homelessness in England has risen by 26% in the past five years
- A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
- Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
- Labour’s credibility trap
From the January 18th 2025 edition
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Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Britain is becoming a well-mannered but deceitful society
Technology and sloppy government are to blame