The Chancellor was interrogated by MPs about her tax-raising budget
Rachel Reeves speaks to the Commons Treasury Committee (Image: UK Parliament)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted “no, no, no” in a furious House of Commons row with another MP over her tax-raising Budget. The Chancellor had been summoned to answer questions from the House of Commons Treasury Committee about leaks in the run-up to her Budget on November 26. But she became angry when Conservative Dame Harriet Baldwin criticised Ms Reeves’s claim that tax rises were the fault of the Tories.
The argument broke out after the Chancellor confirmed that Government Ministers along with civil servants and advisers are being investigated as part of an inquiry into who leaked details of her Budget plans to the media before they were officially announced.
Ms Reeves insisted she had inherited a £22 billion “black hole” from the last Conservative government.
But Dame Harriet said that claim “has been discredited by the Office for Budget Responsibility”, the official Treasury watchdog.
Ms Reeves insisted: “Not at all. The 2£2bn black hole left by the previous government that was set out to me by treasury officials the weekend I became Chancellor of the Exchequer, which we had to fill, and then the £16bn downgrade to productivity.”
She added: “We have had to do additional tax raising because of the mess left by the previous government.”
When Dame Harriet tried to interrupt, the Chancellor said: “Well shall I finish answering your question Dame Harriet?”
But the meeting fell into chaos when Dame Harriet Asked: “So you chose not to put any pro-growth measures in this Budget?”
Rachel Reeves insisted: “That’s … no, no, no.”
As the Conservative MP tried to speak, Ms Reeves said: “Dame Harriet. Don’t contradict what I’ve just said.”
Despite continued interruptions, Ms Reeves continued: “I didn’t say in the answer to my question, as you’ve just suggested, that there were no growth measures in this budget, far from it.”
She highlighted plans to build a new runway at Heathrow Airport, and a film studio in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
The row continued as Dame Harriet said: “Do you accept chancellor, your revealed preference now in terms of the two budgets you’ve bought in is that you hike taxes a lot?” She said: “This impression that you are ready to go for tax rises is going to hang over this country for the rest of this Parliament.”
Ms Reeves attempted to change the topic to the last Conservative government, saying: “Of course the previous government took taxes to a record high”.
But interrupted again by members of the Committee, Ms Reeves said: “No I’m not surprised you don’t want to hear about the previous government, nor do voters.”
Dame Harriet said that leaks in the run-up to the Budget had prevented businesses investing in the UK.
