Rachel Reeves promised growth – 7 ways she nuked economy instead | Personal Finance | Finance

Jobs are vanishing, investment is drying up and confidence has plunged.

Today’s employment data confirms it. More than 100,000 lost their jobs in May. Unemployment is at a four-year high.

That’s down to the Chancellor. Reeves said she wanted more people in jobs, then made it more expensive for firms to hire anyone by hiking employer’s National Insurance in April.

Here are seven ways the Chancellor has nuked growth, and replaced it with something worse.

1. Doom and gloom. The economy was starting to recover when Labour took over but Reeves killed the positive vibes by droning on and on about the “£22billion black hole” she inherited from the Tories, destroying confidence and enveloping the economy in gloom.

Every time she opened her mouth, the recovery died a little more. Now it’s finished.

2. Fear and panic. Next, she made things worse by panicking everyone over the “difficult” Budget to come. She let rumours and speculation run wild for four long months. Terrified consumers stopped buying, businesses froze projects, fear spread.

The economy was on life-support by the time she delivered her speech on October 31. Afterwards, it flatlined.

3. Job destruction. Her £25billion raid on employers’ national insurance bills was a hammer blow to job creation. Businesses warned her it would cost jobs but Reeves didn’t listen.

An inflation-busting increase in the minimum wage, higher in business rates and Angela Rayner’s Employment Rights Bill will add to the burden.

As if that wasn’t enough, Reeves slapped inheritance tax on family firms, in a move that will destroy thousands of smaller companies. This is economic madness.

4. Wealth destruction. Reeves doubled down on the Tory raid on wealthy “non-doms”, refusing to listen to arguments that it would cost more tax than it would make.

Last year, the UK lost 10,000 millionaires, along with their money, jobs and tax receipts.

These are people who create opportunity. Now they’re doing it elsewhere. And ordinary taxpayers will have to cover the shortfall.

Worse, many overseas entrepreneurs who would have set up here won’t come, because they know what’s in store.

5. Even more debt. As growth slows and spending soars, so does the national debt. We spend £9billion a month just servicing the interest, while UK borrowing costs rebound to Liz Truss levels.

That’s money that could have gone on tax cuts, better services, defending the realm. Instead, it’s just being thrown away.

6. Rampant unions. Reeves has also given in to every public sector pay demand going. Without asking for any productivity improvements in return.

Just more billions down the drain. There’s a reason the unions give Labour so much money. They want it back.

7. Out of control spending. The Chancellor’s hamfisted attempts to cut spending by scrapping the winter fuel payment and tightening up disability assessments have backfired.

Now, PM Keir Starmer is undoing everything, costing billions. Next, he will scrap the two-child benefit cap, which will cost us £3.5billion more.

Yes, Reeves inherited a mess after 14 years of Tory misrule. But she’s only made everything worse.

The Bank of England, Office for Budget Responsibility and IMF have all halved UK growth forecasts on her watch.

Growth doesn’t come from tax raids, anti-business rhetoric and botched reforms. It comes from encouraging hard work, enterprise and risk-taking.

Labour doesn’t get that. It never has.

So while Reeves bangs on about unlocking Britain’s potential, the country gets poorer, jobs disappear and the cost-of-living crisis rolls on.

Reeves destroys all she touches. What will she nuke next?