Is Chancellor ushering in 70s-style economic chaos?

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves was last night told to stop "hiding in China", amid warnings she risks pushing Britain into 1970s-style economic chaos.

- David Williamson

She is facing calls to unveil "emergency action" in the wake of soaring borrowing costs and a fall in the value of the pound.

Experts want her to cancel tax hikes which are squeezing businesses, and they have warned of the danger of an "economic doom loop", with the UK entering a "vicious cycle of economic decline".

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said Ms Reeves has her "priorities badly wrong", adding: "While she has absented herself on the far side of the world, her economic decisions here are pivoting us back towards the 1970s, with borrowing costs soaring, inflation stagnating and growth crumbling.

"The Chancellor's place should be here, fixing this mess of her own making. She should come straight back." Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe said Labour had "put a bullet through the heart of entrepreneurial, aspirational Britain".

He added of Ms Reeves: "She has driven the economy to a cliff-edge.