The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is being criticized by the Conservatives for making the same mistakes in her spring budget as she did in her first Budget.
The Tories say she failed to leave enough financial safety net (called ‘fiscal headroom’) last year, leaving only £9 billion to protect the economy from unexpected shocks. That amount was completely wiped out due to rising borrowing costs and global economic instability under Donald Trump.
Today, Reeves said that without spending cuts, the UK would have gone from a £9 billion surplus to a £4.1 billion deficit. Her new cuts are meant to fix this problem.
But the Conservatives argue she hasn’t learned her lesson. Andrew Griffith, the Tory shadow Business Secretary, said Reeves still isn’t leaving enough financial room for emergencies. He also criticized her after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) cut the UK’s growth forecast from 2% to just 1% this year.
Reeves defended her decisions, saying her government is focused on stability and won’t borrow more money just to avoid cuts. She listed lowering interest rates, reducing NHS waiting times, and raising the minimum wage as her successes.
She blamed the UK’s economic struggles on global issues, not her policies, and said her strict financial rules are necessary to avoid burdening working people with debt.
