You have to feel sorry for Rachel Reeves. After building a solid reputation in the opposition, things have not gone to plan as chancellor so far.
Her autumn budget sparked widespread criticism over job tax increases and extra costs for businesses, while questions remain over whether her plans will deliver the growth Labor promised voters.
Now a slow rise in borrowing costs in Britain has seen government bond yields surpass levels seen after Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated mini-Budget.
That’s a shame for a Labor party that has cited a spike in government bond yields in recent years as evidence that Liz Truss is ‘crashing the economy’ and Tory mortgage fines.
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But is the current situation in Britain the fault of Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer, or are they simply caught by an unfortunate turn of events? Or is it a bit of both?
Where did things start to go wrong? Was it the budget, or was it the so-called ‘£22 billion black hole’ and months of miserabilism? And what are government bonds and why do yields matter at all?
On this This is Money podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert explore what has gone wrong with Britain’s finances and what it means for people.
Plus, in better news, Lee looks at the jobs that delivered the biggest wage increases last year and why.
Simon explains what’s going on with the US hedge fund raiding seven investment funds – and why investors should make sure they vote.
And finally, Lee catches up with Dave Fishwick as the new Bank of Dave movie is released.