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Labour does not deserve to win the next election if it does not succeed in changing the country, Rachel Reeves has said, acknowledging that some voters were disappointed with the party’s time in office.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, the chancellor said she is “impatient for change” but ministers “can’t do everything straight away, all at once”.
It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir Starmer’s government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime minister’s approval rating hitting an all-time low last month.
Speaking to Iain Dale, Ms Reeves said: “The reason people voted Labour at the last election is they want to change and they were unhappy with the way that the country was being governed.
“They know that we inherited a mess. They know it’s not easy to put it right, but people are impatient for change.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves took aim at Jeremy Corbyn’s new party (Yui Mok/PA)(PA Wire)
“I’m impatient for change as well, but I’ve also got the job of making sure the sums always add up – and it doesn’t always make you popular because you can’t do anything you might want to do.”
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“You certainly can’t do everything straight away, all at once”, she said.
The chancellor also claimed the government has got the balance “about right” when it comes to taxation, amid mounting questions over how it will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments.
“Of course you’re going to disappoint people. No one wants to pay more taxes,” she said.
“Everyone wants more money than public spending – and borrowing is not a free option, because you’ve got to pay for it.
“I think people know those sort of constraints but no one really likes them and I’m the one that has to sort the sums up.”
It comes just days after former Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds urged the government to consider a wealth tax at the next Budget in order to plug holes in the public finances.
Ms Dodds – who quit Sir Keir Starmer’s government in February over the PM’s decision to cut the foreign aid budget to fund a boost in defence spending – warned that spending cuts will not “deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary”.
Last month, Sir Keir’s support among the public reached new depths of minus 43 after a U-turn on cuts to welfare worth ￡5bn, polling showed.
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The survey, first reported by The Sunday Times, also found that just a year after it came to power, seven in 10 voters think Sir Keir’s government is at least as chaotic as the Tories’ previous term.
That includes one in three voters, who believe it is more so.