Awkward moment Rachel Reeves shown resurfaced interview saying she wouldn’t raise taxes in Budget

Awkward moment Reeves shown previous interview saying she wouldn't raise taxes in BudgetSOURCE: Sky

Transcript

00:00Chancellor, can we start where we left off last year?

00:03Let's remind ourselves of what you said to me 12 months ago.

00:08We've now wiped the slate clean under the mismanagement

00:12and the chaos of the previous government.

00:14It's now on us.

00:15We've put everything out into the open.

00:17We've set the spending envelope for the course of this parliament.

00:21We don't need to come back for more.

00:23We've done that now. We've wiped the slate clean.

00:25Look, I'm not going to be able to write five years' worth of budgets

00:27on this show today, but what we have done...

00:30No, I'm just saying, will there be more tax rises?

00:32You're right, Trevor, there is no need to come back

00:34with another budget like this.

00:36We never need to do that again.

00:37We've now, Trevor, set the spending envelope

00:39for the remainder of this parliament.

00:42We don't need to increase taxes further.

00:44We need to do two things now.

00:46We need to reform our public services to make sure they work better.

00:49Yes.

00:49And we need to grow our economy.

00:53Um, that wasn't true, was it?

00:55Well, the budget this year was not on the scale

00:58of the one last year, but as I set out in my speech

01:02at the beginning of November, the context for this budget did change

01:07and I did have to ask people to contribute more.

01:11And the biggest thing that happened between the spring forecast

01:16and the forecast that the Office of Budget Responsibility

01:19provided for this budget was a big downgrade in productivity.

01:24Now, the OBR have been really clear.

01:27That reflects the legacy of the previous 14 years,

01:31not anything that this government has done in the last 16 months.

01:35But nevertheless, that productivity downgrade means that they forecast

01:40tax receipts are going to be £16 billion lower,

01:43which is why I gave a speech at the beginning of November

01:45saying that the OBR downgrade has had big impact

01:50on the public finances and it was why I would need to ask people

01:53to contribute more.