UK treasury chief blames Brexit for economic woes ahead of tax rises, spending cuts

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - UK Treasury chief Rachel Reeves has blamed the economic impact of Brexit as she prepares to raise taxes and cut public spending in next month’s budget, warning that the consequences of leaving the EU have been “severe and long lasting.”

Reeves said that the legacy of the previous Conservative government’s austerity program, along with former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget, had also contributed to the £30 billion fiscal shortfall she now faces.

“Already, people thought that the UK economy would be 4% smaller because of Brexit. Now, of course, we are undoing some of that damage by the deal that we did with the EU earlier this year on food and farming, goods moving between us and the continent, on energy and electricity trading, on an ambitious youth mobility scheme,” she told Sky News on Wednesday.

“But there is no doubting that the impact of Brexit is severe and long lasting and that’s why we are trying to do trade deals around the world, US, India, but most importantly with the EU so that our exporters here in Britain have a chance to sell things made here all around the world.”

The budget, scheduled for Nov. 26, is expected to include tax increases and tighter public spending as Reeves attempts to repair the country’s finances.