Burnham’s night czar eviscerates Reeves

Oh dear. It’s a day ending in ‘y’ – so that means more bad news for Rachel Reeves. Today, the flack comes from an unlikely quarter: someone you might think was actually on her side. Sacha Lord, who quit last week after more than six years as Andy Burnham’s night-time economy advisor, has today decided to turn on Reeves over her recent tax rises. In a scathing letter, Lord says is now reconsidering his Labour party membership, declaring:

I heard Labour declare itself the party for business and growth. I no longer believe that to be the case…We have evidence, Chancellor, of swathes of job losses, venue closures and stalled expansion and forecasters are predicting 9,000 pub closures within the next 12 months… Beyond these horrific economic implications, the impact on employment, particularly in our younger generations, will be devastating.

Ouch. Lord, who also served as chairman of the Night Time Industries Association, demands that the Chancellor ‘do better’ and ‘show us’ her much-vaunted plan for growth.