'It's not even a triple whammy' ...Rayner attacks own Chancellor for killing off high street businesses

RACHEL Reeves was under fire from all sides last night, as Labour colleague Angela Rayner accused her of closing down high street businesses and senior Tories claimed the Chancellor is “killing growth”.

- BY JONATHAN WALKER and CHRISTIAN CALGIE

In an attack on Ms Reeves’s record, Ms Rayner said hospitality firms are struggling to stay afloat due to rising business rates, soaring energy bills and minimum wage hikes.

The former Deputy Prime Minister, seen as a potential Labour leader if Sir Keir Starmer quits, said: “It’s not even a double whammy, it’s not even a triple whammy.”

Talking to business leaders in Liverpool, she said: “Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken candidly with businesses in my own constituency [Ashton-under-Lyne], and many beyond it, and they say it’s a huge challenge that they’re facing, and it’s a challenge just to stay afloat.”

Ms Rayner is the second senior Labour figure to attack the Chancellor, after it emerged Health Secretary Wes Streeting had complained in a 2025 text message to Peter Mandelson that the government had “no growth strategy at all”.

Conservatives seized on official figures showing people are getting poorer, as new data revealed economic output per person fell for the second quarter in a row. The economy grew by 0.1% over three months but, with the population also growing, it meant gross domestic product per person fell. The Office for National Statistics said in a report: “Real GDP per head is estimated to have fallen for the second consecutive quarter by 0.1%.”

It added: “This is one proxy indicator of welfare, rather than production, which reflects a country’s living standards. It captures the volume of goods and services available to the average person.”

Poorer