{"id":456326,"date":"2026-03-04T02:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/456326\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T02:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:38:11","slug":"rachel-reeves-accused-of-being-tone-deaf-on-energy-prices-as-middle-east-crisis-deepens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/456326\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Reeves accused of being \u2018tone deaf\u2019 on energy prices as Middle East crisis deepens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Rachel Reeves<\/a> was accused of being \u201ctone deaf\u201d on energy<\/a> prices on Tuesday as she delivered her spring statement<\/a> in the Commons. The chancellor<\/a> tried to offer assurances to the House about the potential impact of Donald Trump\u2019s war with Iran on oil and gas prices and how that may affect Britain. But she insisted that Labour\u2019s economic plan was \u201cright\u201d.<\/p>\n

The chancellor defended her fiscal policy, saying the government was in a \u201cbetter place\u201d to deal with gas and oil price shocks than it was after the last general election amid growing tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

But she was challenged by Labour and opposition MPs over the need to have a plan to cap energy bills<\/a> if the war escalates further. <\/p>\n

It came as the Office for Budget Responsibility\u2019s (OBR) report painted a grim picture, warning that economic growth forecasts are down, unemployment is set to rise even higher and net migration is set to go up.<\/p>\n

Ms Reeves<\/a> was at pains to put a positive outlook on the figures, claiming it showed the government \u201chas the right economic plan for our country, in a world that has become yet more uncertain\u201d. <\/p>\n

She took aim at Reform UK and the Green Party and gave a warning to critics in her own party, cautioning against any \u201cchange of course\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following a highly politicised spring statement, the OBR also said that:<\/p>\n

Borrowing is forecast to fall to 4.3 per cent of GDP but still well above the 2 per cent targetReal GDP growth<\/a> is expected to slow from 1.4 per cent in 2025 to 1.1 per cent in 2026The unemployment rate will rise<\/a> from 4.75 per cent in 2025 to a peak of 5.33 per cent in 2026Wage growth is forecast to slow to around 3.5 per cent in 2026 and then average 2.25 per cent a yearIn better news, the main rate of inflation will fall from 3.4 per cent in 2025 to 2.3 per cent in 2026\"Rachel<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Rachel Reeves delivers her spring statement (House of Commons)<\/p>\n

While the figures were based on projections from the middle of January \u2013 well ahead of the US and Israel\u2019s attack on Iran over the weekend \u2013 Ms Reeves sought to address the growing crisis as MPs demanded measures to cap fuel bills and energy costs.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s benchmark gas price leapt by 54 per cent on Monday and Brent crude, the global benchmark oil price, was up about 9 per cent as a result of disruption to shipping routes in the region.<\/p>\n

Ms Reeves said: \u201cWith the unfolding conflict in Iran and the Middle East, it is incumbent on me and on this government to chart a course through that uncertainty, to secure our economy against shocks and protect families from the turbulence that we see beyond our borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she was in regular contact with the governor of the Bank of England, with international counterparts and with key affected industries and would meet North Sea bosses on Wednesday to discuss the implications they face \u201cand work with them to manage this uncertain period\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her planned meeting could prompt speculation that their tax burden could be under consideration, amid heavy lobbying from the sector to axe the windfall tax.<\/p>\n

But she offered no proposals to cap energy bills<\/a> or prevent a hike in fuel costs.<\/p>\n

She also boasted about being the chancellor \u201cto provide the biggest uplift in defence spending\u201d since the last Labour government but offered no timetable on when the 3 per cent of GDP spent on defence target would be met.<\/p>\n

\"Shadow<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride responds in the House on Tuesday (House of Commons\/UK Parliament)<\/p>\n

Hailing her record in the Treasury, Ms Reeves said: \u201cThis government has the right economic plan for our country, a plan that is even more important in a world that in the last few days has become yet more uncertain.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility confirm that our plan is the right one \u2013 inflation is down, borrowing is down, living standards are up and the economy is growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chancellor said the changes in GDP forecast took account of a fall in net migration and said average growth across the next five years was “largely unchanged” despite this year’s downgrade.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I am not yet satisfied with these forecasts,\u201d she added, acknowledging \u201cthe economy is not yet working for everyone\u201d. <\/p>\n

Among those challenging Ms Reeves on energy bills was Labour MP Graeme Downie, a member of the Commons energy select committee, who asked: \u201cCan I ask her to make sure she keeps an eye on that situation with energy bills and to make sure we are investing wherever possible for our future energy security but also to help people in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n

SNP economy spokesperson Dave Doogan described the spring statement as \u201ca 40-minute self-aggrandising monologue\u201d and challenged Ms Reeves.<\/p>\n

He asked: \u201cDoes the chancellor have any clue how her tone deaf monologue will have landed in the real economy, where growth has been downgraded, where unemployment is soaring, and where the cost of energy has just spiked?<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing in her statement about what she intends to do on a strategic level, about when energy goes to the price it was during the height of the Ukraine crisis \u2013 nothing in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Conservative former chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt told the Commons: \u201cHer Budget promise to reduce household energy bills by \u00a3150 is going to ring hollow for many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her update was also lambasted by Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride, who asked whether her lack of new measures was to protect herself from future U-turns.<\/p>\n

He branded the spring statement a “surrender statement”, and accused the government of giving up on the British people.<\/p>\n

\"Lib<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper was critical of a lack of measures (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

He said: “Is that it? What utter complacency, a chancellor in denial. She speaks of stability… what planet is [the chancellor] on?<\/p>\n

“She has lurched from putting up taxes to destroying growth, to destroying headroom, to coming back to putting up more taxes, more growth destroyed. Round and round we go, like a fiscal twister ripping up everything in its path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the spring statement showed the country was “stuck in a doom loop of low economic growth”.<\/p>\n

Ms Cooper called on the government to take a series of steps, including getting a better trade and security deal with Europe, to “get Britain growing again”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-456326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}