We need to talk about debt
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rachel Reeves travels to the World Economic Forum today to shore up support among CEOs and world leaders in Davos. The chancellor hopes to boost investment amidst volatile bond markets, borrowing costs hitting a 27-year high, and the prospect of Trump tariffs. But is the government heading for a Liz Truss-style crash?
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Guest: Dominic O’Connell, Columnist, The Times, and Business Presenter, Times Radio.
Host: Manveen Rana.
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Clips: GB News, Sky News, NBC News, UK Parliament, BBC News.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Look at you with your fancy pants job, sitting at your laptop all day, on your video meetings, saying things like, |
| 0:08.1 | let's circle back on this, or can you drill down on that, or deep dive. |
| 0:15.2 | You know what you are, don't you? You're entitled, that's what? |
| 0:19.9 | That's right. Most people who use a screen at work are entitled to claim free eye care. Ask your boss about getting one of our vouchers. Should have reached out to Specsavers. |
| 0:33.9 | From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. I'm Manvim Rana. |
| 0:43.4 | The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has dusted off her snowboots and headed off to Davos for a succession of big parties and endless panels with world |
| 0:57.0 | leaders and CEOs in an attempt to drum up investment for the UK. |
| 1:04.3 | Meanwhile, back at base, her number two, Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, |
| 1:12.5 | will deliver a speech today outlining Labour's plans to cut benefit bills and government spending. |
| 1:18.5 | Whilst you're paying out universal credit to people who want to work but can't work, obviously |
| 1:23.8 | that is an expensive thing to do. |
| 1:26.6 | For both, it's a desperate attempt to balance the books |
| 1:30.5 | after a rollercoaster week for the markets |
| 1:33.2 | through their plans for the economy into jeopardy. |
| 1:37.5 | Some records have been broken. |
| 1:38.8 | Not the kind of records that Rachel Reeves would like to hear talk about |
| 1:42.2 | because we're talking here about the rate of government |
| 1:45.3 | borrowing. So just how high the interest rates that this government is having to pay? And it is up to the |
| 1:50.6 | highest level since 2008. And to top things off, a new president in the White House could make |
| 1:58.9 | things much worse. I think tariffs are the most beautiful word. I think they're beautiful. It's going to make us rich. |
| 2:06.3 | So do the people who fund the UK's debt have confidence in our ability to pay it back? |
| 2:13.7 | They didn't under Liz Trust, and we all remember how that ended. |
... |
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