Are You Even a Real Labour Chancellor?’ Laura Kuenssberg Grills Rachel Reeves in Tense Clash Over Spending Cuts

People are starting to feel like the Labour Party in power isn’t the one they voted for, according to BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg. She put that concern directly to Rachel Reeves during an interview on *Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Reeves, who is now the chancellor and in charge of the country’s finances, has made some tough decisions since Labour came into power last July. One of the biggest controversies is her decision to cut £5 billion from the welfare budget, which she says will save money over the next few years.

On top of that, she’s expected to tell government departments to cut another £2 billion from their budgets in an upcoming spending review. Since taking office, she’s also reduced spending on things like the winter fuel allowance.

So Kuenssberg asked the question that many people have been thinking: “Rachel Reeves, you’re cutting welfare, you’re cutting spending, you’re cutting regulation. Are you really a Labour chancellor?”

Reeves didn’t dodge the question. She said the last government led to the worst living standards in recent history, and although they raised taxes, people felt like they were getting less in return. She defended Labour’s actions by pointing out some of the things they’ve done since being elected, like raising the national living wage, cutting NHS waiting lists for five months in a row, and making the wealthiest and big businesses pay more in taxes.

She also mentioned plans to introduce free breakfast clubs for primary school kids starting in April, saying it would help working families. Reeves argued that the welfare system badly needs to be fixed and that not many people would disagree with that. She pointed out that a lot of young people — one in eight — aren’t in school, working, or in training, and that’s why the government is putting £1 billion into targeted support to help them.

But Kuenssberg pushed further. She said a lot of viewers feel like Labour isn’t living up to its promises. One person told her that they voted Labour to get rid of the Tories but didn’t expect Labour to continue similar policies.

Reeves responded by saying that people who really need support will still get it, and highlighted that around 1,000 people a day are now going on personal independence payments. Kuenssberg, though, brought it back to public perception — saying politics is often about how people feel, and right now, many feel Labour isn’t the party they voted for.

“Have you not got the story right, or are they right to think that you’ve changed your mind on some things?” Kuenssberg asked.

Reeves ended by saying Labour didn’t have an easy start. When they came in, they found a £22 billion “black hole” in the country’s finances left by the Tories. Because of that, she said, they’ve had to make some hard choices to try and fix the situation.