Rachel Reeves Has Become The UK’s Most Unpopular Chancellor On Record

Posted on 16/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Rachel Reeves is the UK’s most unpopular chancellor in recorded history, according to a new poll.

The MP for Leeds West and Pudsey became the first woman to hold the job – which has been around for more than 800 years – when Labour won on a landslide in July 2024.

However, an Ipsos poll for The Telegraph found almost three quarters (71%) of the British public are dissatisfied with her performance – just 10 days before she is set to unveil her second Budget.

Senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, Gideon Skinner, said: “On top of continued record unhappiness with Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves’ satisfaction ratings have also hit a record low this month, the worst for any chancellor since we started monitoring in 1976.

“This comes in the context of persistent economic anxiety, with more people today struggling to cope than we were seeing in 2022 when the cost of living crisis first started to bite.”

The poll found most voters (66%) did not believe the government’s policies would lead to economic growth, either.

Skinner said: “Historically we’ve only seen similar levels of scepticism over the government’s long term economic plans in the last years of the Major and Sunak governments, and under Brown after the financial crash.

“Meanwhile, Reform UK continue to hold a steady lead in voting intentions, helped by this frustrated desire for change and their own strengths on immigration and (to a lesser extent) on crime – though it should still be noted that many of the public do not see them – or indeed any party – as having the answers either on many issues.”

Skinner pointed out that the last time Labour polled this poorly within Ipsos’s records – going back to the mid-1970s – it was in May 2009, amid the fallout of the financial crisis.

“That was a one-off nadir that they did recover from to some extent, denying the Conservatives a majority in 2010, which might be of some minor comfort to Labour,” he said.

However, the expert noted the challenges are “much greater now” than they were then amid the politically fragmented landscape.

Reeves is widely expected to announce a raft of new tax rises or spending cuts on November 26 in order to fill the £20 billion black hole in the public finances.

It comes a year after her first Budget where she hiked taxes – but promised it was a one-off, and that economic growth was on the horizon.

Since then, the British economy has struggled to take off. It grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter of this year.

The Ipsos poll also gave Reform leader Nigel Farage an eight-point lead over Keir Starmer as the best prime minister.

Downing Street Refuses To Say If Rachel Reeves Broke The Ministerial Code Over Renting Her Home Out

Posted on 30/10/2025 by Boris Clair

Keir Starmer’s spokesperson repeatedly refused to say if Rachel Reeves had broken the ministerial code after she admitted to breaking property rules.

Following reporting from the Daily Mail, the chancellor wrote to the prime minister on Wednesday night confirming she had failed to obtain a “selective” rental licence for her family home in London.

She apologised for the “inadvertent error”, and claimed she had immediately applied for a licence – actions which Starmer declared were a “sufficient resolution” to such errors, according to the Ministerial Code.

Speaking just a month after his deputy prime minister Angela Rayner had to resign after not paying enough stamp duty, Starmer said he was happy the “matter can be drawn to a close” following a consultation with his ethics adviser who decided there was no need for an investigation.

But No.10 is facing intense questioning over the extent to which the mistake was probed by the PM and his ethics adviser.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday morning, a spokesperson for Starmer repeatedly refused to say if the standards rules had been breached.

He also refused to say what evidence independent watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus had looked at before coming to his conclusion that there was no need for a further probe last night.

The prime minister’s spokesperson was also asked if the prime minister, a former director of public prosecutions, thought ignorance of the law was a defence. He said Starmer did not.

Asked why Reeves’ response was therefore acceptable to the PM, he said: “Regrettably she was not aware the licence was necessary, did not obtain the licence before renting the property out.

“She’s explained it was inadvertent mistake and as soon as it was brought to her attention, she took immediate action and applied for the licence… the Ministerial Code makes clear that in certain circumstances, in consultation with the independent adviser, an apology is a sufficient resolution.”

No.10 also rejected suggestions Reeves had got away “scot-free” after a “stitch-up” from the government meant to avoid spooking the bond markets.

He replied: “I don’t accept that framing at all.”

The spokesperson was also asked if the PM stood by his 2022 statement that “lawbreakers cannot be lawmakers” – made at the height of the partygate scandal against Boris Johnson.

Starmer’s representative said: “Yes.”

Leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch has called for an investigation into Reeves’ conduct.

She said: “She is the chancellor. She needs to be on top of her paperwork. She was aware of this legislation. I think there should be an investigation.”

The revelation comes just a month before Reeves is set to unveil her Budget, where there are fears Labour will breach their manifesto pledges not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT in order to fill the fiscal black hole in the public finances.

What Ever Happened To Rishi Sunak’s Summer NFT Launch?

Posted on 06/08/2022 by Boris Clair

The UK’s political landscape in April 2022 was a starkly different place for Rishi Sunak.

He was a chancellor who had enjoyed unusual popularity thanks to his support for workers during the pandemic only to be plunged into an unenviable position.

The country was facing the devastating economic fallout of Covid-19, Vladimir Putin had invaded Ukraine and the biggest squeeze on living standards since records began loomed large.

Tables were turning on the chancellor who was criticised for not doing enough to support the poorest in his Spring statement.

So it was little wonder that when he went all “crypto bro” on us in April, the government was accused of being “out of touch”.

While millions were struggling financially, Sunak announced measures for the notoriously unregulated cryptocurrency sector, which features incredibly volatile currencies.

“It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology,” he said.

The statement piece of the announcement was that Sunak had instructed the 1,136-year-old Royal Mint to issue a trendy non-fungible token by the summer.

NFTs can be anything digital such as a drawing or music but each one is a unique “one of a kind” asset – rather like a famous painting.

Damien Hirst and Bella Hadid are among the celebrities venturing into the NFT world.

They are stored on a blockchain – the same decentralised ledger of transactions used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

The crypto-phenomenon has proved fashionable with celebrities, most recently supermodel Bella Hadid joined the metaverse with an NFT collection called CY-B3LLA – featuring artworks based on 3D scans of her body.

Artist Damien Hirst is also dabbling in NFTs, announcing he will burn thousands of his paintings as part of his year-long NFT project, titled The Currency.

Buyers who purchased one of the 10,000 NFTs for £1,600 each have been asked to choose whether to keep it or trade it for the physical work. If the former, the painting will now be exhibited before being burned.

However, critics of NFTs say the tokens are fundamentally valueless, unregulated and that fraud and scams are a risk.

Given the huge number of computers needed to continuously run for a blockchain to function, they argue NFTs are also bad for the environment.

Since the Treasury’s announcement there has been a major crash in cryptocurrencies and Sunak walked out of the government along with other key backers.

Sunak is now locked in a battle with foreign secretary Liz Truss to become the next Tory leader and prime minister. His team have been approached for comment.

The "Bored Ape" collection of digital images is perhaps the most well-known, having been bought and traded by celebrities for tens of thousands of dollars. — The “Bored Ape” collection of digital images is perhaps the most well-known, having been bought and traded by celebrities for tens of thousands of dollars.

The Treasury originally said the NFT would be issued this summer, but next to nothing has been said about the initiative.

Four months since it was announced, the public is none the wiser.

Details of the project remain largely unknown and the government has never specified what image or object the Royal Mint’s NFT would confer ownership of.

But there is a new Treasury team in town, led by former vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, so HuffPost UK sent them a slew of questions about the NFT.

We also submitted a Freedom of Information request, asking how much taxpayers’ cash was being spent on the project.

The Treasury FoI team confirmed they held the information but refused to divulge how much they were spending on the NFT.

They said the plans were still “under development” and that ministers and officials “need space” in which plans can be refined.

Meanwhile, the Treasury’s press office remained coy about the plans, insisting they were still going ahead but unable to confirm when.

A Treasury source said it was still their “intention” to issue an NFT this summer but was unable to be more specific.

Labour’s shadow economic secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq accused the government of “wasting time and money on an NFT gimmick”.

She said the Conservatives should “come clean” about how much taxpayers’ money had been “thrown down the drain” and described the lack of transparency as “shocking”.

“With the value of crypto currencies in freefall, the government must ditch its lax attitude to crypto regulation and introduce a comprehensive regulatory regime for the sector,” she said.

“The Conservative’s wild west approach to crypto has put millions of people’s savings at risk and crypto-related crime in the UK – such as fraud and money laundering – is now at record levels.”

She also said that without proper regulation the UK was at risk of falling behind global competitors in FinTech such as the EU and US.

The Royal Mint remained tight-lipped saying they were “continuing” to develop their first NFT range and would share further details in “due course”.

They did not answer a question about when it would launch.

Tulip Siddiq MP: “Instead of properly regulating the crypto sector to protect consumers and crack down on criminals, this incompetent government is wasting time and money on an NFT gimmick." — Tulip Siddiq MP: “Instead of properly regulating the crypto sector to protect consumers and crack down on criminals, this incompetent government is wasting time and money on an NFT gimmick.”

It comes after Crypto experienced one of the worst market crashes the new industry had ever witnessed – which saw popular currency bitcoin plummeting.

In a speech last month, Bank of England deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe said the majority of crypto-tokens have “no intrinsic value” and are “inherently volatile, very vulnerable to sentiment and prone to collapse”.

However, the Treasury confirmed it was still “firmly committed” to its plans to create an NFT.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We are firmly committed to putting the UK at the forefront of cryptoasset technology and innovation by capitalising on the freedoms gained by leaving the European Union.

“Our framework will support the safe adoption of crypto whilst giving regulators the agility to respond to market developments, support innovation and protect consumers.

“Our forthcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill will set up the framework for regulating stablecoins in the UK and we will be consulting on a world-leading regime for the rest of the crypto market later this year.”