JEREMY HUNT ACCUSES RACHEL REEVES OF PROMOTING 'FAKE NEWS'

Jeremy Hunt yesterday accused Labour of talking down the country after Rachel Reeves suggested the fall in inflation does not reflect the 'economic reality' felt by voters.

The Chancellor hit back after Ms Reeves used a speech in the City to accuse the Government of 'gaslighting' the public by suggesting the economy has 'turned a corner'.

Ministers believe that official figures this week will show that the Britain is out of recession and that the Bank of England will signal that it is ready to cut interest rates in the coming months.

But the Shadow Chancellor said the Government did not deserve a 'victory lap' and suggested that the improvements would not help with the cost of living.

Acknowledging that inflation could return to its 2 per cent target, Ms Reeves said: 'I already know what the Chancellor will say in response to one, or all, of these events happening. He has been saying it for months now, 'The economy is turning a corner, our plan is working, stick with us'.

'I want to take those arguments head on because they do not speak to the economic reality.

'When [people] hear government ministers telling them that they have never had it so good, that they should look out for the 'feel-good factor', all they hear is a Government that is deluded and completely out of touch with realities. The Conservatives are gaslighting the British public.'

But Mr Hunt, speaking in the Commons later, replied by insisting: 'The biggest single thing we can do to help people with cost-of-living pressures is to bring down inflation, and that seems to be something that escaped the Shadow Chancellor when she said it wasn't a big deal to get inflation down to its target.

'It's a very, very big deal for families – and she needs to know that inflation falls by design and not by accident.'

Mr Hunt accused Ms Reeves of 'fake news' after she warned the Government's aim to ditch National Insurance would hit pensioners.

Ms Reeves claimed the Tories were planning to 'pick pensioners' pockets' to pay for the move and suggested the Government could raise income tax by 8p to pay for it.

Mr Hunt told MPs: 'Our policy is to abolish employees' National Insurance and that means that we want to bring it down to zero.

'And if Labour's strategy is to win the election by frightening pensioners with fake news stories, then I would just say that Britain deserves better.'

Ms Reeves acknowledged that she has no plans to lift the freeze on tax thresholds, which Labour has repeatedly criticised.

Asked whether she would raise the thresholds, she said: 'The tax burden is the highest it's been in 70 years and it's due to go up in each of the next five years.

'But I'm not ready to do what Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss and Conservative ministers and MPs are willing to do, which is to make unfunded commitments – because that's the way to economic ruin.'

2024-05-07T23:37:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd