I try to stay out of Westminster politics, as it is called; the theatrical side-show to how power plays out only interests me when there is some kind of scope for satire. But this set a new bar in shabbiness, and I can’t help commenting on it, if only to avoid being dragged down into the mire by accepting it.
Speaking to the CBI in November last year, Reeves said she was “not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes” – even though this pledge was less about tax rises as such than about major increases on the scale of her first budget.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday where she stood on the statement about more borrowing or more taxes, Reeves replied: “Well, look, I think everyone can see in the last year that the world has changed, and we’re not immune to that change.
“Whether it is wars in Europe and the Middle East, whether it is increased barriers to trade because of tariffs coming from the United States, whether it is the global cost of borrowing, we’re not immune to any of those things.” [1]
Basically, the Chancellor, Reeves, has cancelled a promise not to raise taxes.
But, this is the point. Her justification is that the “world has changed”. The thing is, when she made the earlier commitment she, as Chancellor, knew perfectly well, as does everyone who has any economic literacy at all, that world economic conditions are always changing. So; her then promise would have been understood as being predicated on this reality. She didn’t need to say; “I won’t come back and raise taxes again even if the world economic situation changes“, because that was implied, that is what it means; you are giving a commitment. If she had meant to keep her options open she could have said, “I will try not to raise taxes again but, obviously, it depends on the economic situation at the time”. This is like saying, “I will come and visit you tomorrow.” But, then, it turns out to be raining, and you say, “sorry, it’s raining, I can’t”. There is just something so shabby about the trick that Reeves is trying to pull, and I can’t help objecting to the shabby way she is trying to get this one past us.
Notes