James Murray (left) has been 'thrown under a bus' by Rachel Reeves (middle), a Tory MP says. (Image: Getty)
Rachel Reeves has been accused of throwing a junior minister under the bus to defend her "duplicity" over changes to Britain's fiscal rules.
Conservative MP Nigel Huddleston also accused the Chancellor of "fiddling the figures" and breaking her own rules in comments made on social media.
On Friday, he wrote on X: "Before the election, Rachel Reeves said the fiscal rules were 'non-negotiable' and promised not to 'fiddle the figures'.
"Yesterday (Thursday), she announced a change to the definition of government debt - breaking her fiscal rules and transparently fiddling the figures!
"And today she throws her junior minister under the bus, sent out on the media round to embarrassingly try and defend her duplicity. Your new Chancellor, ladies and gentlemen!"
READ MORE: Biggest tax hike of Labour Budget – Rachel Reeves to fresh ￡20bn raid
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The MP's attack came after Treasury Minister James Murray told Times Radio the Chancellor's changes to her fiscal rules are in line with Labour's manifesto pledge.
He said: "What the Chancellor was setting out is what we pledged to do in our manifesto around fiscal rules."
Labour's 2024 election manifesto said Ms Reeves would follow two rules: first, the current budget would be balanced so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues and second, the debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the economic forecast.
On Thursday, she confirmed the way debt is measured as part of that target would be changed to allow greater flexibility.
Mr Murray told the radio station: "What the Chancellor has said is the second of her fiscal rules, the investment rule, will make sure that we measure debt differently to recognise the value of assets, not just the cost of investment.
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Before the election, Rachel Reeves said the fiscal rules were 'non negotiable' and promised not to 'fiddle the figures'.
Yesterday she announced a change to the definition of government debt - breaking her fiscal rules and transparently fiddling the figures!
And today she throws… https://t.co/lPkhobgX10
— Nigel Huddleston MP (@HuddlestonNigel) October 25, 2024
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"Because what's crucial is that we have investment in this country that will underpin greater growth in the years ahead."
Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said Ms Reeves' move would punish families with mortgages. Still, Mr Murray dismissed the suggestion, also telling Times Radio the changes to the fiscal rules is about stabilising and growing the economy.
He added: "That is crucial for making people better off and keeping mortgages and taxes as low as possible."
The cost of borrowing to the Government rose on financial markets, with the yield on government bonds rising as much as eight basis points before easing on Thursday.
Lyn Graham-Taylor, a senior rates strategist at Rabobank, told Reuters: "It seems to be related to Reeves last night suggesting that the fiscal rules would be rewritten to increase spending on infrastructure."
Ms Reeves is expected to target public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL) as her new benchmark for government debt rather than the current measure of underlying public sector net debt.
A shift to PSNFL would give her greater headroom to meet her debt reduction target because it includes a wider mix of state assets and liabilities, notably expected student loan repayments to offset some of the liability.
Had PSNFL been used as the debt target in the March 2024 budget, the "headroom"—the margin by which the fiscal rule is met—would have increased by ￡ 53 billion, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.