The FT has written a puff piece about Reeves ahead of the Budget. In which she demands ‘sugary cakes’…
The piece, which includes the classic caper “the Reeves you see in public is nothing like Reeves in person, say many who know her” features a bizarre “I’m a prefect” moment between Reeves and a punter when she is challenged on economy-killing tax hikes:
“At a genteel “meet and greet” over sandwiches and tea with local business leaders, the chancellor is robustly challenged — she believes rudely — over her punitive taxes on North Sea drilling. Suddenly the mood changes. “Talk to me with respect,” Reeves says, glaring at her interlocutor. Eyes shift nervously towards the floor. “I’m the chancellor of the exchequer.”
There are no cameras to record the extraordinary exchange. Is everything all right? Surprisingly, Reeves seems to have enjoyed the moment. “He wouldn’t have spoken like that to George Osborne or Gordon Brown,” says Britain’s first female holder of the 800-year-old office, referring to two of her predecessors. “He deserved it,” she guffaws, heading out to the waiting car. Reeves demands respect — and she believes that with her Budget, in spite of everything, she will earn it.”
Alongside that comes some truly eye-popping FT analysis of how great she is:
“Reeves joined the Labour party at 17. By this point, the core of her political personality was already fully formed. She wanted to rebuild a public realm left threadbare by years of Conservative rule. But she also wanted to link Labour values with something far less fashionable in the party: economic discipline.”
Most of the piece is praising her for wanting “to build up a war chest for tax cuts and more public spending before the next election.” Doubt this will shift the bond markets in Reeves’ favour…
