British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is failing in many different aspects of governing, but right now, the economic woes are becoming so severe that they are becoming more concerning than the social turmoil or even the damaging investigations of corruption against Tulip Siddiq, the UKโs Minister of State for Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency, accused, along with her family, of taking bribes of up to ยฃ4 billion related to a Russia-funded nuclear power plant deal in Bangladesh.
The UK is facing economic turmoil, with bond yields up at a 25-year high, which increases government borrowing costs, and domestic inflation at 2.6%, above the Bank of Englandโs target.
Add to that the weakness of the sterling pound, and the import costs and inflation fears are rising โ potentially leading to higher interest rates.
High debt servicing costs might force a โSophieโs choiceโ between tax increases or spending cuts, slowing economic growth. While all that is happening, the Chancellor (Finance Minister) Rachel Reeves sees her future thrown into doubt by the Prime Minister.
Yesterday (13), Starmer twice refused to guarantee that Reeves would remain Chancellor at the next election.
The Telegraph reported:
โHis spokesman was later forced to insist that the Chancellor would be kept in post, but the Prime Ministerโs comments prompted one Labour MP to privately call for her to be sacked if the situation does not improve. There is speculation that Ms. Reeves could be replaced by Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who is often described as the de facto deputy prime minister, or Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary.โ
Starmer also appointed Olaf Henricson-Bell as director of policy in a blow to Reevesโ authority.
โThe Conservatives accused Sir Keir of using the Chancellor as a โscapegoatโ for the dire state of the economy, while Reform UK said she was merely implementing โhis economic agendaโ.โ
Conservative MP Gareth Davies, shadow financial secretary, on X:
In the first half of last year, our economy was on a positive trajectory with growth up and inflation down.
Since then, Labourโs Budget has undermined confidence with lower growth and higher inflation.
The Chancellor urgently needs to get a grip and change course before theโฆ pic.twitter.com/Kd2JLdA9L7
โ Gareth Davies MP (@GarethDavies_MP) January 14, 2025
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, on X:
Back from her pointless trip to China, the Chancellor refused to answer my simple question:
When will the British economy start growing again? pic.twitter.com/n6t78oxIWJ
โ Richard Tice MP (@TiceRichard) January 14, 2025
Reeves is under growing pressure over the sad state of the economyโs public finances, with oil prices at a six-month high and the pound at a new 14-month low.
โThe refusal to offer a guarantee set hares running in Westminster, because Downing Street had shown its support for David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, when facing similar questions last year.โ
Starmer refused to say โyes or noโ to whether Ms Reeves would still be Chancellor at the next general election.
โHe merely said: โThat is why I am confident in our mission for growth and I am confident, completely confident, in my team. We never pretended, nor would anybody sensibly argue, that after 14 years of failure you can turn around our economy and our public services before Christmasโ.โ
One Labour MP told the Telegraph โoff the recordโ that Starmer should sack the Chancellor if she has not stabilized the economy by the summer.
โThe backbencher said that โquestions are going to start to be askedโ about the Chancellorโs future if she does not demonstrate that she has the โcapabilities to take our country forwardโ in the coming months. They added: โIf by June we do not see the kind of economic decisions being made which are believed to be able to drive our country forward, stabilize our economy and to protect our public servicesโฆ then I think people will want greater scrutiny over whether or not she has got the capability to be able to secure our economy for the longer termโ.โ
The Prime Ministerโs official spokesman was forced to insist that Reeves would still be Chancellor at the next general election โ which is, frankly, unlikely.
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The post Failing British Prime Minister Starmer Refuses to Guarantee That Rachel Reeves Will Remain Chancellor Amid Bond Yields Rising, High Inflation and a Sinking Sterling Pound appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
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