Don’t ever open your mouth till you know what the shot is”: such is the timeless wisdom of real estate salesman Ricky Roma in David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, and it is a maxim that politicians always do well to heed. Until now, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has observed Roma’s Rule meticulously, crafting a new economic policy for Labour with an impressive combination of political dexterity and strategic forethought.
In an interview at the weekend with the Sunday Telegraph, however, she made an uncharacteristic blunder — and one with potentially serious ramifications. “We have no plans for a wealth tax,” she declared. Well: isn’t that just a politician’s standard way of appearing to rule something out, while doing no such thing?
