News 'Poppycock!' Rachel Reeves torn apart by Shadow Chancellor over claim Britons will be '£500 better off' under Labour

Georgia Pearce

Guest Reporter
Chancellor Rachel Reeves's pledge that Britons will be £500 better off under the Labour Government is "poppycock", Shadow Chancellor Alex Burghart has claimed.

Laying out her economic plan in the House of Commons this week, Reeves told the House that according to the OBR, Britons will be "on average over £500 a year better off under this Labour Government".





Speaking to GB News, Burghart told host Camilla Tominey that "no one is going to be better off" following the announcements made in the Spring Statement.

Burghart explained: "No one is going to be better off as a consequence of the Spring Statement. It's complete nonsense.


Alex Burghart, Rachel Reeves


"This figure, I think it's been plucked out of page 36 of the OBR report, which says if everything goes right by the end of the Parliament, by the end of the decade, some people will be a few hundred pounds a year better off."

Highlighting how Britons are now set to face fresh hikes in their household bills, Burghart told GB News that Reeves's claim has "failed to take that into account".

Burghart said: "It doesn't take account of the fact that as of next week, everybody's energy prices are going up, everybody's water bills are going up.

"Train fares are going up, and a lot of people are going to lose their jobs because of National Insurance contribution changes, so it's just poppycock."

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Rachel Reeves


Hitting out at another element of Labour's policy, Burghart took aim at Labour's tax raid on private schools, the Shadow Chancellor claimed that the Government "does not care" about public schools, and warned of a surge in capacity if private schools continue to be hit with tax hikes.

Burghart stated: "They definitely don't care about public schools and they don't care about the children in them, and they don't care about the people that work in them.

"They also don't care about the other local schools who are now going to have to take additional pupils, without additional money. Additional pupils, for those schools which closed down."

Fuming at the "disastrous" policy, Burghart added: "We're seeing historic English public schools shut every month because of this disastrous policy.


Alex Burghart


"And it's not just bad for the children who are at those schools, it is bad for everyone. So I am very pleased that the Conservative Party is committed to reversing it."

Reeves laid out the Government's economic plans in her Spring Statement, including plans to cut welfare benefits by almost £5billion.

UK households now are bracing for a series of painful bill increases set to hit from April 1, in what has been dubbed "National Price Hike Day".

Water bills will rise by an average of 26 per cent, adding £123 to annual costs for homes across England and Wales. Energy bills will increase by 6.4 per cent as Ofgem raises the price cap, adding around £111 to yearly costs. Council tax will rise by five per cent in most English areas, adding approximately £109 to a typical band D property.

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