LINDSAY Hoyle has slammed Rachel Reeves for "totally unacceptable" conduct in a furious speech at Westminster.
The Commons Speaker hit out at the Chancellor for not telling the Commons first about her intention to change the Government’s fiscal rules.
"Honourable members may be wondering how they’ll get a seat on Wednesday (for the Budget) – to be quite honest," he said.
He went on: "The way it’s going you won’t need to, we’ll have all have heard it. It’s not acceptable, I don’t want it to continue and I want to treat this House with the respect it deserves.
“It’s totally unacceptable to go around the world telling everybody rather than these Members. They were elected by the constituents of this country and they deserve to be treated better."
He then hit out at Labour hypocrisy on the matter.
🗣 'It is totally unacceptable' NEW: Sir Lindsay Hoyle has rebuked Chancellor Rachel Reeves for not telling the House of Commons first about her intention to change the Government’s fiscal rules 👇 pic.twitter.com/YmYlDG7rAp
— The National (@ScotNational) October 28, 2024
“Isn’t it funny that when it was the previous party, it was the opposite side that was complaining to me," he said.
"Get your acts together, all sides, treat members with respect.”
In response, the Prime Minister's official spokesperson said: "I don’t want to comment on parliamentary matters, but it’s entirely routine for government to make announcements in the run up to budgets and spending reviews."
During a series of broadcast interviews while attending the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington DC last week, Reeves confirmed a technical change in the way she would measure progress against the target of managing debt.
Writing in the Financial Times, Reeves said her fiscal rules would be “the rock of stability at the core of my Budget”.
Labour’s 2024 election manifesto said Reeves would follow two rules: The current budget would be in balance so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues.
The second rule is that debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the economic forecast.
But on Thursday last week, she confirmed that the way debt is measured as part of that target would be changed to allow greater flexibility.
Reeves said: “My fiscal rules will do two things. The first and most important: my stability rule will mean that day-to-day spending will be matched by revenues.
“Given the state of the public finances and the need to invest in our public services, this rule will bite hardest.
“Alongside tough decisions on spending and welfare, that means taxes will need to rise to ensure this rule is met. I will always protect working people when I make these choices, while taking a balanced approach.
“Crucially, my stability rule will also cover the interest on our national debt and unlike the previous government I won’t cut capital budgets to make up for shortfalls in the day-to-day running costs of departments.
“My second fiscal rule, the investment rule, will get debt falling as a proportion of our economy.
“That will make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy, and ensure we don’t see the falls in public sector investment that were planned under the last government.”
