Rachel Reeves responds to the fiscal statement given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the fiscal statement given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

“The Conservatives chose to shield the eye-watering windfall profits of the energy giants, leaving tens of billions of pounds untouched.

“Borrowing is higher than it needs to be, just as interest rates rise.

“This is casino economics - gambling the mortgages and finances of every family in the country to keep the Tory party happy.

“12 years of Tory government have left us with lower growth, lower investment, lower productivity, and today - the lowest consumer confidence since records began. The only things that are going up are inflation, interest rates and bankers’ bonuses.

“The Chancellor has made clear today what his priorities are. Not a plan for growth, a plan to reward the already wealthy. A return to the trickle down of the past, not a brave new future.”