Rachel Reeves has warned the incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham, that he needs to be properly prepared to govern when he arrives in Downing Street in a little more than a week. In what is likely to be her last major interview as chancellor, Reeves told Laura Kuenssberg that “it is important that when Andy walks through that door he has a worked-through plan, because governing is hard in Britain, and lots of challenges and shocks will come his way”.
The chancellor, who sat down with the BBC in the same lavish 17th-century state room at No 11 where she gave her first full interview in July 2024, said Burnham and his team must be “really clear about what they want to achieve” and that “he needs to stay laser-focused on those things that have always motivated him, have always driven him”. Asked why Sir Keir Starmer’s time in office was ending, she replied: “People are impatient for change – I’m impatient for change and I totally get that people want to see their lives changed faster.”
“Rachel Reeves warns incoming PM Andy Burnham he needs a 'worked-through plan' as she hands over a 'stable economy'.”
Reeves insisted she had returned “stability and trust” to the economy over the past two years and that “Andy will take over an economy that is much stronger than the one I inherited from the Conservatives just two years ago”. She pointed to government borrowing costs that have fallen, inflation well down from its peak, increased investment in roads and railways, and growth outpacing the UK’s nearest competitors. But by other measures, serious problems remain: inflation is still above target and expected to rise, growth has been slow, and the Bank of England warned this week that interest rates might have to go up again. The country’s debts are due to be higher at the end of this parliament than when Labour moved in, and the latest ONS figures show disposable income still under pressure.
Reeves would not explicitly say who should be the next chancellor, or even whether she would like to stay. She has always called being chancellor her “dream job”, but she and her team clearly do not expect to remain in No 11. With the incoming No 10 team tight-lipped about its cast list, the question of who will take over the Treasury remains unanswered.
