Rachel Reeves holds urgent talks with Bank of England amid market turmoil
Rachel Reeves has revealed she has held talks with the Bank of England amid the global stock market turmoil following Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Chancellor told MPs at Treasury questions that she had spoken to Governor Andrew Bailey about the state of the financial markets – and he had reassured her that the banking system was “resilient” and that “markets are functioning effectively”.
“The United States’ decision to impose tariffs has had and will continue to have huge implications for the world economy,” Reeves said.
“These implications have been reflected in the reaction that we have seen in global markets in recent days which the financial authorities have, of course, been monitoring closely.
Rachel Reeves has revealed she has held talks with the Bank of England
PARLIAMENTLIVE.TV
Reeves also confirmed she had spoken to US counterpart Scott Bessent last week to ‘pursue the best deal’
REUTERS
And the Chancellor sounded bullish in the Commons as she vowed that Labour “cannot watch and wait”.
She said: “This Government is clear-eyed that our response to global change cannot be to watch and wait – but instead to act decisively, to take the right decisions that are in our national interest and protect working people.
“All of the decisions that we make as a Government will be underpinned by the stability of our non-negotiable fiscal rules.
“A trade war is in nobody’s interest. It is why we must remain pragmatic, cool-headed and pursue the best deal with the United States that is in our national interest.
“This remains our priority – and that was part of the discussion that I had with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week. We have been that clear nothing is off the table.”
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride pledged that the Tories would ‘assist’ with driving down tariffs
PARLIAMENTLIVE.TV
The Chancellor even found support from shadow counterpart Mel Stride, who pledged that the Tories would “assist” with driving down tariffs – though couldn’t resist a swipe at Labour’s “disastrous decisions”.
Stride told MPs: “This is a time of great concern for millions of people up and down our country, for businesses, and – as an open-trading nation – for our economy at large.
“Free trade has been the bedrock of prosperity for our country and many countries around the world for decades. It has raised billions out of poverty.
“Tariffs are the enemy of free trade, and we on this side of the House will do whatever we can to assist the Government in getting those tariffs down.
“Having said that, of course, we will never cease becoming an effective opposition, vigorously holding them to account – not least on the disastrous decisions that they have taken already in respect of our economy,” Stride jabbed.
“But we will be responsible when it comes to these matters, particularly where market sensitivities are engaged.”
