Key facts
- Reeves was to say no one in government could be in any doubt about her view on the damage of Brexit.
- She was to argue that economic interests, common values and geography all point toward Europe.
Former UK chancellor Rachel Reeves was due to use a Harvard speech on Monday to argue that closer ties with the European Union, and eventually rejoining, are both the credible and the radical choice for Britain. Reeves, who was removed from the Treasury when Andy Burnham became prime minister, was also to defend her investment-led growth model and the tax rises that funded it, themes that now shape John Healey's first budget.
Reeves's speech puts a former chancellor's argument for closer EU ties and regional tax sharing behind the agenda of Burnham's government, which has adopted both as the centrepiece of Healey's budget. The 100 billion pounds of capital spending she authorized is now flowing into NHS infrastructure, roads, housing, rail and energy projects.
Rachel Reeves, the former UK chancellor, was due to deliver a speech at Harvard on Monday that her allies billed as her first public intervention on her own record and on Britain's future, timed for after John Healey's first budget. According to the report, she was to say that no one in government could be in any doubt about her view of the damage done by Brexit, and that economic interests, common values and basic geographical reality all point toward Europe.
The speech was to argue that pursuing a closer relationship with the European Union, even rejoining, could be both credible and radical. Reeves was to give Andy Burnham, who removed her from the Treasury when he became prime minister, credit for his willingness to face reality head on over Brexit, the report said. She was also to say the shift to an investment-led growth model required sacrifices that a Starmer-led government failed to persuade the public to back.
Reeves's earlier lecture, six months before the Harvard address, called for liberating regions from what she described as stifling Whitehall orthodoxies and proposed giving regional leaders a share of national taxes long allocated by central government. That plan now forms the centrepiece of Healey's budget, the report said. Reeves raised employers' national insurance and changed the fiscal rules to permit a multi-year commitment to an eventual 100 billion pounds in new capital spending, money the report said is beginning to flow into NHS infrastructure, roads, housing, rail upgrades and energy and industrial investments.
The report said IMF economists in Bangkok praised the UK's deficit reduction plan as standing out among G7 peers during Healey's first outing at the fund, and that some MPs in Westminster now judge Reeves's legacy and influence more favorably than before.
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