Rachel Reeves has admitted that Labour has "disappointed" people since taking power, acknowledging the harsh realities of governing from Number 11 Downing Street. The Chancellor said she understood that her role inevitably meant making unpopular decisions that would upset voters.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Reeves (Labour) defended her party's approach to balancing tax, spending and borrowing since winning the general election. She insisted Labour had struck the right balance, even though tough fiscal decisions had proved unpopular with some groups.
Balancing books means tough choices
Appearing on the Iain Dale All Talk fringe show, Reeves said voters had backed Labour because they wanted change after becoming "unhappy with the way that the country was being governed". She acknowledged that people understood Labour had "inherited a mess" but were growing impatient for improvements.
"I'm impatient for change as well, but I've also got the job of making sure the sums always add up - and it doesn't always make you popular because you can't do anything you might want to do," Reeves explained. She added that the Government certainly could not "do everything straight away, all at once".
Oil sector faces mixed messages
The Chancellor pointed to Labour's £200 million investment in carbon capture technology in the north east of Scotland as an example of welcome industry support. However, she acknowledged that the same oil and gas sector was less pleased with Labour's windfall tax on their profits.
"I can understand that that's extra tax that the oil and gas sector are paying, but you can't really have one without the other," Reeves said. She argued that both policies were necessary parts of Labour's overall economic strategy.
Public expectations versus fiscal reality
Defending Labour's record in office, Reeves maintained her party had got the "balance about right" between competing demands. But she was frank about the inevitable disappointment that comes with governing.
"Of course you're going to disappoint people," she said. "No-one wants to pay more taxes. Everyone wants more money than public spending - and borrowing is not a free option, because you've got to pay for it."
Reeves said the public understood these constraints in principle, even if they disliked them in practice. "I'm the one, I guess, that has to sort the sums up," she added. The Chancellor warned that Labour would not "deserve" to win the next election if it failed to deliver the change it had promised voters.
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
