{
  "id": 8199562,
  "title": "Ignorance is no excuse for Labour’s economic failures",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/ignorance-is-no-excuse-for-labours-economic-failures",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-18T07:34:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/ignorance-is-no-excuse-for-labours-economic-failures/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Labour Chancellor John Healey and Prime Minister Rachel Reeves appear to be echoing the same refrain of ignorance when it comes to Britain's deteriorating financial situation. This comes as no surprise to many who saw through their election promises regarding the Conservatives' alleged economic crash. Reeves, in particular, has been accused of gaslighting the nation into believing that unexpected tax rises were necessary due to factors she was unaware of. Critics argue that both Healey and Reeves failed to grasp the severity of the nation's financial predicament, despite access to crucial briefings from the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The country faces high borrowing costs, ballooning government spending, and inflation that could lead to increased interest rates, potentially spiraling into a downward economic spiral. With a Parliament reluctant to make tough spending cuts to address these issues, the nation could be in for more of the same unpopular policies and promises from its current leadership.",
  "summary": "John Healey is copying Rachel Reeves’ technique of gaslighting the nation into thinking he had no idea what the bind markets and OBR have been screaming at every fiscal event, says Tom Harwood It feels like “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher should have been irritatingly on repeat every morning this week. Why? [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}