Rachel Reeves set to reveal government’s ‘stark’ spending inheritance

Rachel Reeves will set out the state of Labour’s spending inheritance from the Tories as the Treasury finishes its assessment of the public finances.

The Chancellor is expected to tell the House of Commons today that the previous government had made “significant” funding commitments for this financial year without clarity on where the money would come from.

She is also expected to confirm the timings of the next Budget and a multi-year Spending Review – and to commission a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

READ MORE: Sign up to our must-read daily briefing email on all things Labour

Reeves is expected to announce the cancellation of some infrastructure projects to close a £20bn black hole in the country’s finances.

According to The Guardian, possible projects that could be paused or axed include a road tunnel under Stonehenge and the Euston section of HS2.

Projects launched by Boris Johnson while in Downing Street, including plans to restore more than 40 railway lines and a programme to build 40 new hospitals, may also be put on hold or cut.

Reeves will tell the House of Commons that the gap in the public services requires “immediate action” to “fix the foundations of our economy”.

She is also expected to announce a new Office of Value for Money to find savings to cut poor value spending.

It comes after several senior Cabinet ministers accused the Conservatives of “covering up” the scale of challenges in the public sector.

However, former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the BBC that the new Labour government was “peddling nonsense” and said the books were “wide open and what they show is a healthy, growing economy”.

READ MORE: ‘How Labour should approach the role of the OBR in government’

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said: “After fourteen years of Conservative failure, the Labour Party is calling time on the sticking plaster politics of populism.

“The electorate sent this changed Labour Party to government with a clear mandate to restore economic stability, grow the economy and build the homes we need.

“We will not shy away from being honest with the public about the reality of what we have inherited. We are calling time on the false promises that British people have had to put up with and we will do what it takes to fix Britain.”

The government’s assessment is set to focus on policy areas including health, migration, housing, defence, transport and more.

Reeves will address Parliament at 3.30pm this afternoon and hold a press conference in the Treasury at around 6pm.

SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour or the election – contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected]. 

SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning. 

DONATE: If you value our work, please donate to become one of our supporters here and help sustain and expand our coverage.

PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or content, email [email protected].