Sadiq Khan has said he is “confident” there will be “optimism” about Britain’s economy next year - but only after Rachel Reeves has delivered a “tough Budget” this autumn.
The London mayor said the Chancellor must not emulate the last Tory Government’s austerity programme, and that it was important for her Budget to “give us some hope for the spending review” in the spring of 2025.
It comes after Ms Reeves last week denied suggestions that the Government’s Budget rhetoric had spread gloom among consumers and businesses.
The Chancellor has argued that the Labour Government inherited the worst economic situation since the Second World War from the Tories.
In July, she claimed to have uncovered a £22 billion “black hole” in public finances. Her Conservative predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, said she would “fool absolutely no one” and accused her at the time of a “shameless attempt” to lay the groundwork for tax rises in her upcoming Budget.
During a visit to a baby bank in Camden on Wednesday, Mr Khan told the Standard: “What I’m hoping the Chancellor announces in her Budget on October 30 is, a plan to get us through [the] 2025/26 [financial year], which is really important - but more importantly, gives us some hope for the spending review next spring.”
He added: “That spending review is the next three years' worth of plans. We can't have more austerity. We've had 14 years of austerity.
“I'm confident that once we've got through 2025/26 - it will be a tough budget for obvious reasons, [due to the] £22bn black hole - there'll be some optimism next spring, with a three-year spending review that gives everyone certainty about going forward.
“I’ll be going to [International] Investment Summit on October 14, encouraging businesses to invest in London and the UK, because that investment will lead to growth that will support families going forward.”
Ms Reeves has herself said that the upcoming summit will be a “massive opportunity for us to show what Britain has to offer to some of the biggest investors”.
The mayor made his comments after being asked what he would like to see from the Government to combat child poverty, after he urged Londoners to donate pre-loved coats and blankets to their local baby bank ahead of the winter.
“There’s been a report published today which shows the depth of poverty - and child poverty - across the country,” said Mr Khan.
“An amazing stat is that [for] three quarters of those children living in poverty, their parents are working - they’re working families. So there’s a whole issue about people doing the right thing, [by] working, but not being able to make ends meet.”
A Government spokesperson told the BBC on Wednesday that ministers are “taking action” through a new Child Poverty Taskforce, which is “developing an ambitious strategy to give children the best start in life”.
They added: “Alongside this, we have extended the Household Support Fund to support the most vulnerable this winter and have committed to reviewing Universal Credit while we deliver on our plan to tackle inequality and make work pay to deliver opportunity across Britain.”
