By Mel Stride

This morning’s speech from Rachel Reeves was a masterclass in finger-pointing.

The Labour Chancellor talked for nearly an hour and managed to blame everyone but herself for the mess she has made of Britain’s finances.

But the truth is simple: this was an emergency speech from a Chancellor panicking about the speculation she herself has fuelled. After months of confusion and mixed signals, all Reeves has done is confirm what households and businesses already feared - that tax rises are coming.

Reeves is doing her best to dress it up as “fairness” and “difficult choices”, but the reality is clear. Before Reeves took office, she promised no new tax rises. Within months, she delivered a £40 billion raid on working people and business - the biggest single tax rise in more than 30 years.

She then said she’d wiped the slate clean; she wasn’t coming back for more. Just a year later, she’s rolling the pitch for........

© LBC