Rachel reeves

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson

Sorry, Rachel, but more debt is not the answer to the debt crisis

Has anyone seen George Osborne’s £3 billion? The Chancellor seems to have lost it. His government had expected to net £2.5 billion more than it spent last month, as July is normally a good month for tax receipts. Instead the figure has come in at a £600 million deficit. This is a major shock to the City, and analysts are spending today reworking their forecasts. Sure, we know the economy has flatlined. But we didn’t know that the impact on the tax haul would be so bad. As you’d expect, Labour has gone on the attack. But the Ed Balls line (being voiced by Rachel Reeves today) sounds less convincing

Sunday

David Blackburn

The charity row intensifies

David Cameron finds himself in the midst of a blue-on-blue barney over the charity tax, which has prompted rumours that ministers may dilute the current proposals by adopting an American-style legacy deal. Tory party treasurer Lord Fink has said that the proposed changes would ‘put people off giving’, and some boisterous Conservative MPs are openly challenging the leadership. Zac Goldsmith has penned a diatribe in the Mail on Sunday in which he says: ‘I am ashamed that a Conservative Chancellor has not only announced measures that will undoubtedly depress giving in this country; he has spun a narrative in which philanthropists are now the enemy.’ Meanwhile, David Davis told the

Wednesday

Sunday

Peter Hoskin

The shape of the Budget battleground

There are still two days and a couple of hours to go until George Osborne’s Pre-Budget Report — but, already, we have a good idea of what will be said. The emphasis, beyond just plain ol’ jobs and growth, will be on combatting youth unemployment; helping smaller businesses; and relaxing the squeeze on middle-income folk. Most of the measures either announced or suggested so far — from the Youth Contract to the credit easing scheme to the suspension of January’s fuel duty rise — fall into one of those compartments. Whether they’ll work or not is a different matter entirely.      As for Labour’s response, they’re already making it —

Friday

James Forsyth

Miliband tries to re-energise the Opposition

The Labour reshuffle is an attempt to bring more energy and aggression into Ed Miliband’s top team. It is also a recognition that the party has failed to cut through on public service reform, hence new shadows at both health and education. Chuka Umunna’s rapid promotion to shadow Business Secretary will, I suspect, dominate coverage of the reshuffle. Having been an MP for less than 18 months, Umunna now finds himself up against Vince Cable. If he succeeds in this role, he’ll rapidly become the leader in waiting. But there’s also a danger that it might all be too much, too soon for him. Umunna is one of five new

Thursday

James Forsyth

Rehsuffle rumours

Those now leaving Liverpool are indulging in some shadow Cabinet reshuffle speculation. This chatter has been sparked both by the fact that Miliband has now abolished shadow Cabinet election and by how many of the media rounds in the past few days have been done by members of the 2010 intake notably Stella Creasy, Chuka Umanna and Rachel Reeves. Expect them to be in line for rapid promotion. To make way for them, some of the under-performing members of the shadow Cabinet will have to be sacked. One name touted as being in the frame is John Healey, the health spokesman. Healey has long infuriated some in the leader’s office