Rachel Reeves seeks to win over business chiefs in Davos with Thatcherite defence of Budget
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Rachel Reeves was seeking to win over business chiefs in Davos to invest in Britain by portraying herself as the “Iron Chancellor” who will stick to her fiscal rules and deliver economic growth. The Labour Chancellor adopted one of Margaret Thatcher’s famous phrases, known as TINA, to argue that ‘there is no alternative to our last Budget”.
She also stressed that the chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority, Marcus Bokkerink, had stepped down after recognising it needed to be headed up by someone sharing the Government’s “strategic direction”. He was replaced late on Tuesday by the former Amazon executive Doug Gurr on an interim basis.
The Chancellor had demanded that the CMA and other British regulators “tear down the barriers hindering businesses and refocus their efforts on promoting growth” in a meeting last week. However, her own Budget last autumn has sparked accusations from bosses and the Tories that it is hitting economic growth and jobs with its £25 billion hike in National Insurance on employers.
She was dealt a fresh blow on Tuesday by dismal pubic finances figures, partly caused by a spike in debt interest payments. The Office for National Statistics said public sector net borrowing stood at £17.8 billion last month, the third highest for any December on record.
Borrowing was £10.1 billion higher than the same month last year and more than the £14.1 billion expected by most economists. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “This is yet another sign that the Chancellor’s Budget has not worked.
