Reeves rejects claims of £50bn 'black hole' in (UK) finances

BBC ^ | Sep 3, 2025 | Faisal Islam and Mitchell Labiak

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Rachel Reeves has rejected forecasts of a £50bn "black hole" in the public finances, despite higher borrowing costs and expected tax rises piling pressure on the chancellor ahead of the autumn Budget.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Reeves hit back at reports speculating over her plans, arguing that "a lot of them are talking rubbish".

It comes after the cost of long-term government borrowing rose to a 27-year high on Tuesday, fuelling concerns the chancellor will have to hike taxes or cut spending.

Reeves said she would aim to "get the balance right" at the Budget, which will be on 26 November, but the Conservatives said the government "don't know what they're doing".

Reeves told the BBC: "Working people and businesses can rest assured, I know how important it is to return growth in investments to our economy and I will do that in the Budget this year."

However, shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused the government of not having a plan and of "stalling" the Budget "in the vain hope things might get better".

• Faisal Islam: Reeves will need her hard hat for the next three months

'Talking rubbish'

Last month, an independent think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr), estimated that the chancellor would need to plug a £50bn gap in the public finances.

But the chancellor played down the figure and told the BBC Niesr had "more than most got their numbers wrong in the last few years".

Forecasts for how much money Reeves needs to find to meet her self-imposed borrowing rules vary widely, with some estimates...

[packrat35]

She is lying.

[Toughluck_freeper]

Isn’t the UK in such bad financial shape that it will have to get a loan from the IMF just to make it?
The kind of loan the IMF gives to struggling third world countries?