The government is “gaslighting” the public about the state of the economy, the shadow chancellor will say on Tuesday.
Rachel Reeves is set to attack the Conservatives in a speech in the City of London, as the opposition takes the fight to the government on their own turf ahead of the general election.
Running a strong economy has long been the focus of Conservative election campaigns.
And with a raft of economic data coming out this week, Ms Reeves will be looking to get ahead of the government’s messaging – saying Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claiming the economy is improving is “deluded”.
The Bank of England will on Thursday make its latest decision on interest rates, with expectations that borrowing costs will be held at 5.25%.
The government wants this rate to come down, but the Bank sets the base rate independently.
There is also quarterly GDP data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) coming this week, which will likely show the UK coming out of the technical recession it has been in.
Taking the front foot in the wake of the drubbing the Conservatives took in the local elections, Ms Reeves will say: “By the time of the next election, we can, and should, expect interest rates to be cut, Britain to be out of recession and inflation to have returned to the Bank of England’s target.
“Indeed, these things could happen this month.
“I already know what the chancellor will say in response to one or all these events happening. He has been saying it for months now: ‘The economy…
