Chancellor is ‘excellent’ and stabilising the country’s finances, says Pat McFadden
WORK and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has defended Rachel Reeves and said she is an “excellent” Chancellor who is stabilising the country’s finances.
Asked why she is still in post, during the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, he said: “She’s in post because she’s a excellent Chancellor who’s putting the country’s finances on a stable footing.
“She’s getting more investment into the country, and she’s helping people with the cost of living. That’s why she’s in post.”
He denied that the government was taxing working people: “No, it’s not. I mean, all the taxation in the country comes together for the things that we need, and we had to turn the corner on the NHS, which we’re doing with waiting lists down for the first time in years.
“We had to keep up the investment in the transport system, in building new houses. There are things to be done in the country.
“We’ve got to increase defence expenditure because of the situation in Europe. So taxation goes to all those things right across the board.”
McFadden also dismissed the notion that mayoral elections are being postponed because Labour would lose: “No, I’d quite like them so we could see what different parties are like when they’re in power.
“It’s a good test. And some people who thought they could do it are finding out it’s a bit harder than they thought.”
On criticism that the Budget favoured ethnic minorities and people on benefits, he said: “The Universal Credit System is designed to make sure you’re always better in work.
“The previous system, people used to lose more or less pound for pound if they took up a job. There’s now a taper that means you’re better off on a sliding scale if you are taking up work. That’s an important part of the system.
“The problem with the examples quoted is they don’t know how many of those people are British citizens at all. Many of them may have become British citizens over the years that they’ve been here, and many of them may be working, because, again, Universal Credit is a benefit that applies to families, both in and out of work, depending on how much they’re earning.
“So again, I think there’s a big problem with that, because it doesn’t take into account how many are British citizens.
“And there’s another important aspect of this, which is that people who come here don’t have access to the benefits system until they’ve been here for five years, and we’re increasing that to 10 years, because we do believe in the principle of contribution in the benefit system, as I’m sure a lot of your viewers do too.”
