Labour does not deserve to win the next election if it does not succeed in changing the country, Rachel Reeves has said, acknowledging that some voters were disappointed with the partyâs time in office.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, the chancellor said she is âimpatient for changeâ but said ministers âcanât do everything straight away, all at once.â
It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir Starmerâs government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime ministerâs approval rating hitting an all time low last month.
Speaking to Iain Dale, Ms Reeves said: âThe reason people voted Labour at the last election is they want to change and they were unhappy with the way that the country was being governed.
âThey know that we inherited a mess. They know itâs not easy to put it right, but people are impatient for change.
âIâm impatient for change as well, but Iâve also got the job of making sure the sums always add up â and it doesnât always make you popular because you canât do anything you might want to do.â
âYou certainly canât do everything straight away, all at onceâ, she said, adding that Labour did not âdeserveâ to win the next election if it fails to deliver the change it promised.
The chancellor also claimed the government has got the balance âabout rightâ when it comes to taxation, amid mounting questions over how the government will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments.
âOf course youâre going to disappoint people. No one wants to pay more taxesâ, she said.
âEveryone wants more money than public spending â and borrowing is not a free option, because youâve got to pay for it.
âI think people know those sort of constraints but no one really likes them and Iâm the one that has to sort the sums up.â
It comes just days after former Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds urged the government to consider a wealth tax at the next Budget in order to plug holes in the public finances.
Ms Dodds – who quit Sir Keir Starmerâs government in February over the PMâs decision to cut the foreign aid budget to fund a boost in defence spending â warned that spending cuts will not âdeliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessaryâ.
Last month, Sir Keirâs support among the public reached new depths of minus 43 after a U-turn on cuts to welfare worth ÂŁ5 billion, polling showed.
The survey, first reported by The Sunday Times, also found that just a year after coming to power, seven in 10 voters think Sir Keirâs government is at least as chaotic as the Toriesâ previous term.
That includes one in three voters, who believe it is more so.
