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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Ashley Cowburn

Rachel Reeves accuses Tories of 'picking pockets' of millions of Brits with Autumn Budget

Rachel Reeves has accused the Tories of picking the pockets of millions of Brits with stealth tax increases, as she hit out at 12 years of economic "failure".

Her comments came after the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled the Autumn Statement and announced major tax increases in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Hunt also confirmed that the UK is now in recession with the economy expected to shrink further next year, based on Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.

"Britain can no longer afford a Conservative Government," Ms Reeves said in a blistering response on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

She added: "In the last hour, the Conservatives have picked the pockets of purses and wallets of the entire country as the Chancellor has deployed a raft of stealth taxes taking billions of pounds from ordinary working people.

Jeremy Hunt delivers the Autumn Statement in the House of Commons (Sky News)

"A Conservative double whammy that sees frozen tax thresholds and double-digit inflation erode the real value of people's wages."

Referring to the extended freezes in personal allowance, the Shadow Chancellor said it would cost the average worker more than £600.

Pointing to the next general election, Ms Reeves said people will be asking themselves: "Are me and my family better off with a Conservative Government?

"And the answer is no. The mess we are in is the result of 12 weeks of Conservative chaos, but also 12 years of Conservative economic failure.

"Growth down, investment down, wages squeezed, public services crumbling."

She said today's Autumn Statement was an "invoice for the economic carnage" of former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-Budget - delivered just eight weeks ago.

"Never again can the Conservatives be seen as the party of economic competence."

She also said the Government has forced the UK economy into a "doom loop where low growth leads to higher taxes, lower investments and squeezed wages, with the running down of public services".

She acknowledged the impact of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, but said Britain's problems started before then.

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