Rachel Reeves is preparing to throw the kitchen sink at the Conservatives. To howls of predictable outrage from the opposition benches, the chancellor will tell the Commons on Monday that Labour’s inheritance is far worse than anyone could have imagined, backed up by a Treasury audit showing £20bn in spending commitments left unaccounted for by the previous government.
Despite the old Tory promise to “fix the roof when the sun is shining”, made way back in 2010, it has been clear for years that nothing of the sort happened. Reeves can hardly feign shock that the national debt is at the highest level since the 1960s, public services are crumbling and living standards have gone backwards.
