It has been a tumultuous time for politics in the UK. We’ve had calls for Rishi Sunak to be outed and potentially replaced by Kemi Badenoch, we’ve had Nigel Farage threatening a comeback after his jungle reality TV stint, and we’ve had Labour being very shady about their green spending pledge.
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Indeed, just yesterday, Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves found herself in hot water during a Sky News interview. She refused several times to give a clear answer about Labour’s proposed £28 billion investment in green projects. This comes after she revealed earlier this year that she struggles to get by comfortably on her five-figure salary. Let’s get into both of these stories, and see what Reeves actually said.
Labour’s green spending pledge
Rachel Reeves previously committed to spend £28 billion a year on green investment under a possible Labour government in the UK. However, during this interview she repeatedly dodged questions about whether or not she will be sticking to this if Labour wins the general election.
She tried to give a clever answer by saying that it would be a target in the second half of a first parliament, if Labour comes into power. However, this didn’t cut the mustard; she was asked around 10 times for a concrete response. Reeves neither promised nor denied anything, despite the pressure, stating:
The fiscal rules will come first and all of our policies will be subject to the iron discipline.
She gave no figure, but added, ‘Of course we will update people on our thinking on this.’
Labour ditches the plan
Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, followed in Reeves’ footsteps, saying that the investment promise would be upheld ‘if we can get there’.
However, there has been a major update today during the course of another Sky News interview: a senior MP has confirmed Labour is dropping the £28bn target for green investment. Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, revealed this morning that the party has already ditched the plan.
Rachel Reeves’ salary
This is another blow for Rachel Reeves, who faced criticism in January 2024 over her remarks about her salary. Talking to GB News, she said:
What makes me wince is when I look at my bank statement and I find that the money coming in is increasingly short of the money going out, whether it's the mortgage or the gas and electricity bills, the weekly shop.
She went on, explaining, ‘All the money that all of us spend over Christmas is putting a huge toll on family finances and I think very few people are not feeling the effects of that’. Her tone was no doubt meant to sound relatable but it struck the wrong cord, given that she earns over double the average salary in the UK.
Rachel Reeves earns a whopping £86,000 a year, while the average Brit - as of November 2023 - earns around £38,000. Furthermore, Reeve’s husband is a civil servant, and is hardly strapped for cash. As director general of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat at the Cabinet Office, he earned between £170,000 and £174,999 in 2022.
At the time, a Tory source quipped to Mail Online:
If the shadow chancellor can't run her own bank account, how on earth does she expect the public to trust her with the economy?
Both of these mishaps place Reeves in a less-than-favourable light, especially given the elevated cost of living in the UK.
Read more:
⋙ Rishi Sunak has been in office for one year: Here's the salary he earns as Prime Minister
⋙ Sir Keir Starmer earns a six-figure salary: Here's how much the Labour leader gets paid
⋙ Angela Rayner's bad habit earned her this terrible family nickname
Sources used:
Express: Rachel Reeves blasted for saying she struggles to live on her £86k a year salary
The Standard: Reeves refuses to clarify £28bn green spending pledge
Independent: Reeves refuses to clarify £28bn green spending pledge
The Guardian: Labour accused of ‘massive backward step’ over decision to drop £28bn green investment pledge – UK politics live
