Reeves: UK economic growth figures don't deserve victory lap

Well, it was expected that GDP would bounce back after falling into recession last year. But if you look at this Prime Minister’s record since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, the economy is still £300 worse off per person in the country. So this these numbers today are not deserving of the victory lap that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt seem to want to go on. Well, the economy fell into recession under the watch of Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt and they wanted to call that a technical recession. In which case expect that they happy to call this a technical recovery, because the truth is. Working people are still worse off compared to when Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister. The crucial thing is we never would have delivered the sort of budget that the Conservatives delivered under Liz Trust and quasi quarter, that crashed the economy, sent mortgage rates spiralling and put pensions in peril. And that was under a Conservative government. This is the first parliament on record where living standards will be lower at the end than they were at the beginning for celebration, no cause for a victory lap. My ambitions, Britain, are so much greater than merely just coming out of recession, which is all that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have achieved. Very pleased that Conservative MPs and also former Conservative voters are coming over to the Labour Party. It shows the change in the Labour Party and it shows Labour winning support from all different people and all different communities. Natalie Elphick has of course at the front line of the small boats crisis is just growing and growing and she, like many people, is recognised that the Conservatives have no plan to deal with the small boats compared with the plan that Yvette Cooper and Keir Starmer are setting out today to crack down on the criminal gangs at the heart of this evil crime. Disagreed with what she said about Marcus Rashford a couple of years ago, but those are things she said when she was a Conservative MP. She is now joined the Labour Party and she is also recognised that some of the things that she said in the past. Are wrong, but I very much welcome her to the party. I think it shows that right across the country, from Dover to North Yorkshire to Scotland, people are increasingly turning to the Labour Party because we have the answers to the challenges, whether it’s on the cost of living crisis, fixing the NHS or indeed ensuring that our borders are secure.