UK government’s economic inheritance becomes a battle line

THERE are major political differences between the United Kingdom’s new Labour government elected on Jul 4 – ending 14 years of Conservative rule – and the Conservative-led one which entered office in May 2010, taking over from its Labour predecessor.

However, one commonality is that both have claimed a sub-par economic inheritance at the point of handover.

The new Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves has claimed that she has the worst such inheritance in the post-war era. On Jul 29, she released a Treasury dossier showcasing a “£22 billion (S$38 billion) black hole” in this year’s Budget.