Matthew Lynn

Why Rachel Reeves’ growth plan is doomed

Rachel Reeves (Credit: Getty images)

The wait is over. After six months in government, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has decided that today is the day to step forward and pull the big lever marked ‘growth’. In a widely-trailed speech, she has outlined all the different ways her government is going to get the economy moving again. There is just one snag. The lever isn’t attached to anything. In reality, Reeves doesn’t have a clue where growth comes from – and that means her big speech this morning won’t change anything. 

Reeves has, at least, finally got round to detailing how she plans to make the UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7. Cynics might wonder why she has been keeping it all to herself for so long, and why she didn’t include any of the new measures in her Budget.

Written by
Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a financial columnist and author of ‘Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis’ and ‘The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031’

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