Rachel Reeves has said she ‘won’t be taking any advice’ from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch after she called on the Government to work with her to cut welfare spending
Rachel Reeves has said she “won’t be taking any advice” from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch after she called on the Government to work with her to cut welfare spending.
The Chancellor dismissed Ms Badenoch’s request to join forces and criticised the Conservative MP for being part of a government that “crashed the economy”. Labour branded the Tory leader’s plea “delusional” and said the Conservative Party hasn’t learned the lessons from their time in office and can’t be trusted.
During a speech today, Ms Badenoch invited Keir Starmer to work with her on a plan to cut the benefits bill. She claimed support from the Tories – who have 120 MPs – could help him get his plans through the Commons if some of the 399 Labour MPs rebel again.
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“Whether he wants to admit it or not, Keir Starmer needs our help if he wants to cut spending and stop this tax doom loop that he created,” she said at an event in central London.
“If he wants to stop pushing up inflation and stop crushing business confidence, he simply cannot afford to fail at this again. We cannot afford to fail at this again.”
Speaking to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, Ms Badenoch also said Britain must face the “hard truth” that its standard of living is “not an entitlement”. The Conservative leader said the country was “living beyond our means” and “spending more than we earn on welfare, on union pay rises and, increasingly, on debt interest”.
When Ms Reeves was asked if she’d take the Tory offer of support, she told MPs in the Commons: “Whilst the Leader of the Opposition is talking down the British economy, we are setting our sights on growing the economy and making working people better off.
“And we won’t be taking any advice from the Leader of the Opposition, who was part of a government that crashed the economy, sending mortgage rates spiralling and putting pensions in peril.”
A Labour Party spokesman said: “It’s delusional of Kemi Badenoch to think anyone would want to take economic advice from her Conservative Party. Their economy-crashing, growth-killing, irresponsible approach to governing left mortgages spiralling and working people worse off.
“The only thing in Britain that needs a bailout is the Conservative Party from its leadership. The Tories haven’t listened, they haven’t learned, and they can’t be trusted.”
A Department for Work and Pension source added: “Kemi Badenoch can’t be taken seriously. The Conservatives had 14 years to reform welfare.
“Instead, they left the country with a broken system that holds people back and fails to support the most vulnerable. Until she apologises for the state the Tories left the system in, there’s no point listening to her.”
Mr Starmer’s decision to move his close ally and fixer Pat McFadden to the Department for Work and Pensions in last week’s reshuffle has sparked speculation that he could be planning another bid to cut the welfare bill in the coming months.
In July, the PM was forced into an embarrassing climbdown over his welfare plans – which included proposals to cut disability benefits – after Labour MPs staged a major rebellion.
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