𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

“It was your fault, no it was your fault” is a slightly embellished line from the hit musical Into the Woods. It comes from the song Your Fault, in which the fairytale characters seek to blame each other as they are forced to confront the consequences of their actions in a gloomy woodland.

That dark place is British Politics right now. Instead of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel squabbling we have Rachel Reeves, Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch. In a 24 hour speech-fest they have blamed each for the economic malaise the country finds itself in and the looming tax rises in the Budget in three weeks time. The Westminster version goes a bit like this.

(Reeves) It’s not my fault, it’s your (Farage) fault that I’m going to have to whack up taxes again because of Brexit and it is your (Badenoch) fault too because of 14 years of Tory governments.

(Badenoch) But it’s your (Reeves) fault because you have overspent, overtaxed, overborrowed and failed to grip inflation, welfare and unemployment.

Oh, and by the way, it will be your (Farage) fault that things will get even worse if you ever get to run the country.

(Farage) It’s both your fault and I will definitely fix it and Brexit has been squandered.

You get the picture.

But Rachel Reeves is undoubtedly the worst culprit as she only has herself to blame.

The Chancellor claimed she knew “how bad” the nation’s finances were not long after entering the Treasury

Today, some 16 months later, she sought to point the finger, not only at the Tories and Brexit, but also global headwinds, Donald Trump, OBR forecasts…Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

What Ms Reeves did strongly hint at in a highly unusual pre-Budget press conference in Downing Street was that she is pretty much going to break Labour’s manifesto promises not to increase National Insurance, Income Tax and VAT.

In 21 days time she will only have HERSELF to blame.