Super-heroine Rachel Reeves is in battle with a mythical beast that keeps multiplying, and the OBR won’t help her, writes Paul Ormerod

When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor in July 2024, she announced that her tenure would be the most pro-growth “in our country’s history”. A key part of this strategy was to persuade the financial markets that everything would be safe and secure under Labour.

In early August that year the Treasury published a document entitled “Fixing the Foundations” which pronounced that the fiscal framework would be strengthened “to ensure the £22bn “black hole” in the public finances never happens again”.

We might usefully note that this mythical beast the Black Hole seems to have the qualities of the Hydra. No sooner has our super-heroine Rachel chopped off the head labelled £22bn than even bigger ones spring up.

Reeves eulogised the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in achieving financial stability. She legislated that no government........

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