Downing Street has contradicted Rachel Reeves with an insistence that Donald Trump is not responsible for the UK economy’s dire straits, despite the Chancellor earlier indicating the US President was to blame. The Telegraph has more.
A No. 10 spokesman denied that the US President’s tariffs were to blame for a contraction in the economy.
Ms Reeves had appeared to point the finger at Mr Trump’s administration after official figures showed the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank unexpectedly in January by 0.1%.
However, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said “no” when asked if the US President was at fault.
He added: “We know the cost-of-living crisis is not over, and this Government is determined to make people better off, and that’s why economic growth is the Prime Minister’s number one priority.
“Growth is what funds our public services, it is what enables investments in our hospitals and schools and, of course most importantly, raises living standards for everyone, everywhere.”
Ms Reeves had said “the world has changed and across the globe we are feeling the consequences” after official figures delivered a blow to her growth ambitions.
Mr Trump was inaugurated in January and had promised to impose tariffs on his first day in office after his election in November.
Ms Reeves would not comment directly on the US President but suggested his tariffs would damage the economy.
Worth reading in full.
The timing in January is obviously wrong for Reeves to blame the current ‘Trump slump’. As the Telegraph‘s Eir Nolsøe notes: “While nervousness about possible tariffs may have made output a bit weaker in January, there was still little certainty about what Trump would actually do. Stock markets were still relatively sanguine about the impact of his policies then, with many investors still counting on a boost rather than bust.”
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