FT – Reeves pledge to borrow only for investment

The Financial Times leads on Rachel Reeves’s pledge to borrow only for investment, echoing fiscal rules set out under the last Labour government. The shadow chancellor said on Tuesday that Labour would follow fiscal rules set by the current Conservative chancellor, Jeremy Hunt. 

The paper also reports on Donald Trump saying he might need to sell assets to meet a $464m (£365m) court ruling.

Rachel Reeves pledges to borrow only to invest under Labour fiscal rules

Shadow chancellor’s plans met with scepticism from economists and dubbed too timid by union leader

Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor, on Tuesday pledged a Labour government would aim to borrow only to invest, echoing the fiscal rules of former Labour chancellor Gordon Brown.

Reeves said her rules would ensure “the current budget must move into balance so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues”, but a union leader denounced her economic plan as too timid and “for the birds”.

The shadow chancellor confirmed in her Mais lecture in the City of London that Labour would also match Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s fiscal rule that overall public debt should fall year on year as a share of gross domestic product by the fifth year of official forecasts.

The rolling target, which is always five years away, has been criticised by economists. Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said her rules would be “identical in effect” to those being followed by the current chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.

https://www.ft.com/content/9191853c-6844-419d-b729-9051f88cc0c3