Rachel Reeves MP stood before a packed House of Commons on Monday and accused the Conservative government of concealing a £21.9 billion overspending. She announced a series of spending cuts, including cuts to winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners.
“She knows that the key to political success is leading the narrative,” says the Guardian’s economics editor. Larry Elliott,tell Helen Pidd“And the narrative she wants people to believe is that any tough decisions she has to make are not her fault because the Conservatives have adopted a scorched earth approach that has left her with a huge mess.”
Mr Elliott claims Mr Reeves is following George Osborne’s 2010 playbook.
“Every new administration tries to make tough decisions in Congress early so they can get out of office quickly, in the hope that by the next election voters will have forgotten. So when they come into office, they blame other administrations for the tough decisions they have to make.”
But could the Labour Party have chosen a different path?
Photo: Lucy North/AFP/Getty Images
