1.2.2 – Established political parties
When the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, sat down on the frontbench after delivering her Budget speech, she was met by the sound of thunderous support from the Government benches. However, this was short lived, and Reeves then had to face the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, who has the first right of reply. On this occasion, she did not pull her punches.
Badenoch described the Chancellor of the Exchequer as ‘spineless, shameless and completely aimless’, words which drew criticism in some quarters as amounting to a personal attack. Bedenoch accused Reeves of breaking her promises not to raise taxes after her last Budget, and delivering ‘a Budget for Benefits Street, paid for by working people’. Whilst Badenoch does not have to outline an alternative set of proposals at this stage (with the prospect of a general election still a long way off), their hope will be that these accusations gain traction in the media, heaping further pressure on the Government.
The Lid Dem leader, Ed Davey, used his response to the Budget to call for closer ties with the EU. He said, “There is an alternative to all these Conservative and Labour taxes, and the shocking reality is that the Government know it: a new trade deal with Europe” before noting that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal cost the Exchequer £90bn a year in tax revenue. He rounded off this section of his speech by saying, “Imagine how much more we could be helping families and pensioners across our country with the cost of living. Imagine how we could be ending the cost of living crisis today.” In doing so, the Lib Dem leader was attempting to tarnish both the major parties – the Conservatives for Brexit, and Labour for not addressing it.