Rachel Reeves has been slammed after she said Labour would copy a key Tory economic policy. The shadow chancellor said overall public debt should fall year-on-year as a share of GDP by the fifth year of official forecasts. This policy was adopted by the Tories in November 2022. It would mean Labour can only borrow for investment but not day-to-day spending. This would limit the amount of money the government has to spend.
The SNP has warned the move will "choke off economic growth and impose devastating cuts to public services". Unite the Union said the plans would mean Labour will "end up in a straitjacket of your own making." SNP economy spokesperson Drew Hendry said: "Yesterday's speech from the Shadow Chancellor confirmed what the SNP have been saying for some time now: the fiscal policies of the Tories and Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party are now indistinguishable. "Labour's decision to adopt the Tories second fiscal rule will only choke off economic growth and impose devastating cuts to public services. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Play now "The IFS has been clear that there is a 'conspiracy of silence' between the Tories and Labour on public service cuts. The Shadow Chancellor had a chance to end that silence. "Instead, she has tried to pull the wool over people's eyes