Budget 2025

[BoldonLad]

Did Osborne have the same scrutiny? Don't remember him being accused of overstating his work record or penis length.

Was that possibly because he had enough "toff" related things to tar him with (in addition to his actual time in office)?

 

[BoldonLad]

[quoting Brian, not the intervening posts]
Certainly not to the same degree. But by the same token he was a lot less crap than Truss.

Reeves is being singled out a bit, I agree. Some is self inflicted because she's in the public eye and massaged her CV more than I've ever done, vis. her time at the BoE. Some of the rest is inflicted by Labours over use of trial balloons. Hard to say how much of that is the treasury, naivety or hubris, but it's hugely damaging.

Note however that Lammy did exactly this in order to decide between 2, 3 or 5 year potential sentences for non-jury trials, and no one has yet questioned whether he was under 12's school tiddlywinks champion or not.

Maybe you answered that indirectly, in another post?

 

[icowden]

It's the usual consequence of being found to have lied on your CV.

Just run past me what the outright lies were?

She has a Masters in economics from LSE which would seem to qualify her as an economist.
She said that she spent a decade working as an economist at the BoE in the structural economic analysis division rather than the 6 years working as an economist at the BoE of which one year was spent doing her masters as an economist. The 6 years were listed on her LInkedIn CV.

She did say that she worked as an economist at HBOS. Her actual job was running the customer relations department dealing with complaints and mortgage retention. I don't think you can get that job without understanding economics.

The substance of the "lie" is that she said she trained and worked as an economist when she trained and worked as an economist but not all of the work that she said she did as an economist was actually working as an economist and nothing else.

Is this really the best the Tories can do? "You didn't work as an economist for as long as you said you did."

It's pathetic.

 

[icowden]

As a follow up lets look at the Chancellors of the Exchequer in the 21st century:

• Rachel Reeves - Masters in Economics, worked as an economist for Bank of England and also worked at HBOS.
• 2022-2024 (2 years) Jeremy Hunt - BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), worked as a management consultant and English teacher.
• 2022 (5 weeks) Kwasi Kwarteng - studied Classics and History at Cambridge and has a PhD in economic history focusing on the recoinage crisis of 1695-7. Worked as a journalist.
• 2022 (12 weeks) Nadim Zahawi - BSc in Chemical Engineering. Failed businessman, Marketing Director, very good at avoiding tax including evading tax.
• 2020-2022 (2 years) RIshi Sunak - PPE at Oxford, worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and two hedge funds one of which made (coincidentally) a fortune out of Covid.
• 2019-2020 (1 year) Sajid Javid - BA in economics and politics. Worked in banking for various banks overselling government bonds, expert in tax avoidance.
• 2016-2019 (3 years) Philip Hammond - PPE at Oxford. Joined a medical equipment manufacturer and then was director of a housing developer.
• 2010-2016 (6 years) George Osborne - BA in modern history. Journalist
• 2007-2010 (Three Years) Alistair Darling - LLB (Law Degree). Solicitor and advocate.
• 1997-2007 (Ten years) - Gordon Brown - MA and PhD in History. Politics lecturer and tutor.

Is it me or is the best qualified person to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, the minister responsible for the economics of the UK, the one person who has a masters in economics? It just seems to me that we should maybe let Reeves have her chance and that she is far from being the worst chancellor of the exchequer in the 21st century.

 

[Dorset Boy]

She did say that she worked as an economist at HBOS. Her actual job was running the customer relations department dealing with complaints and mortgage retention. I don't think you can get that job without understanding economics.

You don't need any background in economics to work in customer relations. What a strange thing to say.
And the fact she said she did one job but actually did something completely different and totally unrelated is a blatant lie by her.

 

[First Aspect]

As a follow up lets look at the Chancellors of the Exchequer in the 21st century:

• Rachel Reeves - Masters in Economics, worked as an economist for Bank of England and also worked at HBOS.
• 2022-2024 (2 years) Jeremy Hunt - BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), worked as a management consultant and English teacher.
• 2022 (5 weeks) Kwasi Kwarteng - studied Classics and History at Cambridge and has a PhD in economic history focusing on the recoinage crisis of 1695-7. Worked as a journalist.
• 2022 (12 weeks) Nadim Zahawi - BSc in Chemical Engineering. Failed businessman, Marketing Director, very good at avoiding tax including evading tax.
• 2020-2022 (2 years) RIshi Sunak - PPE at Oxford, worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and two hedge funds one of which made (coincidentally) a fortune out of Covid.
• 2019-2020 (1 year) Sajid Javid - BA in economics and politics. Worked in banking for various banks overselling government bonds, expert in tax avoidance.
• 2016-2019 (3 years) Philip Hammond - PPE at Oxford. Joined a medical equipment manufacturer and then was director of a housing developer.
• 2010-2016 (6 years) George Osborne - BA in modern history. Journalist
• 2007-2010 (Three Years) Alistair Darling - LLB (Law Degree). Solicitor and advocate.
• 1997-2007 (Ten years) - Gordon Brown - MA and PhD in History. Politics lecturer and tutor.

Is it me or is the best qualified person to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, the minister responsible for the economics of the UK, the one person who has a masters in economics? It just seems to me that we should maybe let Reeves have her chance and that she is far from being the worst chancellor of the exchequer in the 21st century.

The problem is more on the politics side of things than the economics side of things. What a chancellor does is always dictated by a bit of both.

If you are a clumsy politician - and I refer to the pre budget press conference here - or part of a department or administration that can't get it's messaging even remotely close to being right - months of doom mongering - no amount of good economic decisions is going to compensate.

 

[secretsqirrel]

As a follow up lets look at the Chancellors of the Exchequer in the 21st century:

• Rachel Reeves - Masters in Economics, worked as an economist for Bank of England and also worked at HBOS.
• 2022-2024 (2 years) Jeremy Hunt - BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), worked as a management consultant and English teacher.
• 2022 (5 weeks) Kwasi Kwarteng - studied Classics and History at Cambridge and has a PhD in economic history focusing on the recoinage crisis of 1695-7. Worked as a journalist.
• 2022 (12 weeks) Nadim Zahawi - BSc in Chemical Engineering. Failed businessman, Marketing Director, very good at avoiding tax including evading tax.
• 2020-2022 (2 years) RIshi Sunak - PPE at Oxford, worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and two hedge funds one of which made (coincidentally) a fortune out of Covid.
• 2019-2020 (1 year) Sajid Javid - BA in economics and politics. Worked in banking for various banks overselling government bonds, expert in tax avoidance.
• 2016-2019 (3 years) Philip Hammond - PPE at Oxford. Joined a medical equipment manufacturer and then was director of a housing developer.
• 2010-2016 (6 years) George Osborne - BA in modern history. Journalist
• 2007-2010 (Three Years) Alistair Darling - LLB (Law Degree). Solicitor and advocate.
• 1997-2007 (Ten years) - Gordon Brown - MA and PhD in History. Politics lecturer and tutor.

Is it me or is the best qualified person to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, the minister responsible for the economics of the UK, the one person who has a masters in economics? It just seems to me that we should maybe let Reeves have her chance and that she is far from being the worst chancellor of the exchequer in the 21st century.

Gordon Brown was the best chancellor out of that lot.

 

[PurplePenguin]

Just run past me what the outright lies were?

She has a Masters in economics from LSE which would seem to qualify her as an economist.
She said that she spent a decade working as an economist at the BoE in the structural economic analysis division rather than the 6 years working as an economist at the BoE of which one year was spent doing her masters as an economist. The 6 years were listed on her LInkedIn CV.

She did say that she worked as an economist at HBOS. Her actual job was running the customer relations department dealing with complaints and mortgage retention. I don't think you can get that job without understanding economics.

The substance of the "lie" is that she said she trained and worked as an economist when she trained and worked as an economist but not all of the work that she said she did as an economist was actually working as an economist and nothing else.

Is this really the best the Tories can do? "You didn't work as an economist for as long as you said you did."

It's pathetic.

As you state, she said she worked as an economist at HBOS when she didn't. That would be enough to get you fired in many jobs.

She may have more economic experience than many others, but she overstated it and is now criticised for it.

 

[Pblakeney]

Gordon Brown was the best chancellor out of that lot.

Hmmm. Sold off gold reserves while at an all time low and did a tax raid on pension funds. IIRC.

 

[Pross]

The really stupid thing is claiming something that can so easily be proved to be untrue, it makes you question her competence even more. That said, there's a difference between putting it on LinkedIn and putting it on your CV when applying for a new job. I see posts from some guy who is a secondary connection whose profile says 'the smartest guy in the room'. I'm pretty sure that's not the case (and as a potential client I think I would rule him out for arrogance and claiming he'd be smarter than me if we were in a meeting together. I also regularly see people who are apparently doing more than one job as they've messed up updating their profile when changing jobs.

 

[secretsqirrel]

Hmmm. Sold off gold reserves while at an all time low and did a tax raid on pension funds. IIRC.

Didn’t say he was great

 

[PurplePenguin]

The really stupid thing is claiming something that can so easily be proved to be untrue, it makes you question her competence even more. That said, there's a difference between putting it on LinkedIn and putting it on your CV when applying for a new job. I see posts from some guy who is a secondary connection whose profile says 'the smartest guy in the room'. I'm pretty sure that's not the case (and as a potential client I think I would rule him out for arrogance and claiming he'd be smarter than me if we were in a meeting together. I also regularly see people who are apparently doing more than one job as they've messed up updating their profile when changing jobs.

Wasn't it on her CV as well?

 

[bobzmyunkle]

Hmmm. Sold off gold reserves while at an all time low and did a tax raid on pension funds. IIRC.

Not to mention a fondness for PFI.

 

[CXRAndy]

Why would she have been fired?

Because she is shite at managing a country's finances

 

[Pross]

Wasn't it on her CV as well?

Don't know, all the references I saw said CV but then went on to mention her LinkedIn. Do you provide a CV and apply to become Chancellor of the Exchequer?