Published: Friday, December 5, 2025 · 2:16 PM | Updated: Friday, December 5, 2025 · 2:16 PM
📊 115 views
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has continued to face claims that she misled the public by overstating how bad the UK’s finances were in the run-up to the budget.
At the start of November, Reeves gave a Downing Street speech that suggested tax rises were needed to secure the UK’s economic future. Reports also circulated that suggested the chancellor would face a gap of up to £20bn in the government budget.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has dismissed the claims against Reeves, saying it was not misleading “for the chancellor to say that the fiscal position was very challenging”. This was despite the OBR submitting a forecast to Reeves on 31 October indicating that the government was set to meet its fiscal targets with £4.2bn headroom.
Read more: What is a stealth tax and why is it so controversial?
Following the budget announcements on 26 November, shadow chancellor Mel Stride and the Scottish National Party both urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate claims that Reeves gave misleading statements.
The FCA has since stated that it would not immediately investigate Reeves’ pre-budget briefings, but has left the door open for a review at a later stage.
Reeves has denied the accusations and has the backing of Downing Street, which refused to accept the claims.
In our poll on Monday, we asked for your views on Reeves’ pre-budget briefings. We received 3,437 votes, with 86% saying that she did mislead the public, 9% saying that she didn’t and 5% undecided.
Read more:
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
MORE IN INSIDE CRYPTO
Bitcoin price steadies but fresh fears suggest slide to $52k
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2026 · 10:12 AM
This 1 Quantum Computing Rumor Is Making Investors Sell Their Bitcoin. Don’t Fall for It
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2026 · 9:20 AM
