'TIME TO GO'
‘Shameless’ Rachel Reeves blasted for LAUGHING with Labour MPs as she’s accused of ‘losing control of UK’s finances’
The market turmoil saw UK borrowing costs hitting a 27-year high and the pound slumping to its lowest level since 2023
RACHEL Reeves has been blasted for laughing in Parliament while being confronted over soaring borrowing costs and the pound’s nosedive.
The Chancellor was forced to break cover after jetting off to China while Britain's economy took a battering.
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It comes as Tulip Siddiq has resigned as anti-corruption minister over her links to the previous despotic Bangladesh regime.
The Treasury Minister was forced to quit just over a week after referring herself to the sleaze watchdog for investigation.
Ms Siddiq had denied all the allegations against her but it was claimed she benefited financially from three London properties linked to her aunt - the former PM of Bangladesh.
Ms Reeves was quizzed in the Commons by Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride who accused her of “scampering halfway around the world with a begging bowl” while markets spiralled.
The market turmoil saw UK borrowing costs hitting a 27-year high and the pound slumping to its lowest level since 2023.
Mr Stride compared her current position to a Shakespearean tragedy, adding: “To go or not to go? That is now a question.”
But as he tore into her handling of the economy, the Chancellor was seen chuckling alongside Labour frontbenchers.
She then hit back at her counterpart, insisting he was "not being serious".
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And defending herself, she claimed “global factors” were behind market turmoil and that growth was the Government's top mission.
She told MPs: “We have seen global economic uncertainty play out in the last week.
“But leadership is not about ducking these challenges, it is about rising to them.
“The economic headwinds that we face are a reminder that we should – indeed, we must – go further and faster in our plan to kickstart economic growth.”
Issuing a scathing response to her laughter, the Tories wrote on X: "Labour think that loosing control of the public finances, and sending the economy into crisis, is a laughing matter… Shameful."
During her statement, Ms Reeves also said agreements reached in Beijing and Shanghai, where she held discussions on trade and investment, would be worth £600 million to the UK over the next five years.
But Mr Stride said a “black hole has opened up in the public finances while (Ms Reeves) was absent from her station”.
“To give a sense of scale, the deal the Chancellor has announced amounts to £120 million a year.
“The rise in our borrowing costs due to her disastrous Budget has added around £12 billion to our annual spending on debt interest alone – literally 100 times what she says she has brought back from Beijing.
“That is money that cannot now go on the public priorities, £12 billion is enough to pay for 300,000 nurses, to cover Labour’s pernicious winter fuel payment cut for eight-and-a-half years.”
The Commons showdown comes after Sir Keir Starmer yesterday poured petrol on the fire by dodging questions about whether Ms Reeves will stay in No11 long-term, before Downing Street scrambled to insist she’ll remain in post for the rest of the Parliament.
The yield on 30-year government bonds surged to levels not seen since the 2008 crash, sparking fears Labour may be forced to either hike taxes or slash public spending to balance the books.
Asked to rule out future spending cuts by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Ms Reeves replied: “I’m not going to write five years worth of budgets in the first six months of a Labour Government.
“But I’m absolutely committed to meeting the fiscal rules that I set out in the budget in October, because we know what happens when Governments lose control of the public finances, and that is they crash the economy, and end up on that side of the House.”
Earlier today, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell warned cuts to balance the books would be “politically suicidal.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The electorate have to be protected, otherwise I’m afraid we’re looking at a level of disillusionment which then turns people towards, unfortunately, Reform, and I think that would be a disaster for the country.”
The former frontbencher, who has had the Labour whip suspended, suggested the Government just has to “see through” the market turmoil, but he insisted a wider review of economic strategy is necessary including intervention from the Bank of England “if necessary”.
Ministers were offered some relief on Tuesday morning as the pound regained its footing after hitting fresh 14-month lows on Monday, while UK Government bonds recovered some lost ground after a recent heavy sell-off.
Sterling held firm at 1.22 US dollars in morning trading, having sunk to its lowest level since November 2023 in recent days.
Government borrowing costs showed signs of stabilising, with yields on 10-year UK Government bonds – also known as gilts – down three basis points at 4.86 per cent.
The yield on 30-year gilts struck its highest level for 27 years on Monday, and 10-year yields rose to fresh highs not seen since 2008.
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Yields are a key indicator of market confidence, moving inversely to bond prices.
They rise when investors are less willing to own the debt, meaning they will pay a lower price for the bonds.
Tighter Budgets across Whitehall
By Deputy Political Editor Ryan Sabey
RACHEL Reeves returned to the Commons today to answer her critics - blaming market turmoil on global events.
The Chancellor told MPs to "just get real" as global volatility was to blame for the problems.
She tried to get on the front foot by telling MPs that her plan for growth needs rocket boosters put under it.
She argued that the "economic headwinds" must go "farther and faster" to raise living standards for millions of Brits.
The bearpit of the House of Commons may have offered some relief for the Chancellor compared to recent days.
The market upheaval and being accused of fleeing to China have all piled up questions for the Chancellor to answer on her return.
She even received the dreaded vote of confidence from the Prime Minister - and we all know what happens to football managers when the board back them.
Ms Reeves has previously said there will only be one fiscal event or Budget in a year. But she today refused to rule out a full Budget in March.
But whatever she does will be tough to handle for the public and her Cabinet colleagues.
She will stick to her fiscal rules and that is likely to lead to tighter Budgets across Whitehall.
Her counterpart Mel Stride today asked her: “To go, or not to go, is now a question” in a reference to William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
For Ms Reeves, she's digging in and not going anywhere despite the upheaval.