By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) - The UK's first woman Treasury chief on Monday blasted the economic situation inherited from the previous Conservative government as the "worst set of circumstances” in some 80 years.
In her inaugural speech as chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said the issues she found in her first three days in office corroborated her longstanding warnings about the dire state of the economy.
"I have repeatedly warned that whoever won the general election would inherit the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War," she stated.
"What I have seen in the past 72 hours has only confirmed that. Our economy has been held back by decisions deferred and decisions ducked. Political self-interest put ahead of the national interest. A government that put party first and country second."
She blamed the current economic woes on "14 years of chaos and economic irresponsibility" under the Tories, and highlighted the need for immediate assessment and action.
Over the weekend, she instructed Treasury officials to evaluate the spending legacy to gauge the full scope of the challenge, with findings to be presented to parliament before its summer recess.
This assessment will be distinct from the budget, which will be scheduled later this year alongside a forecast from the Office of Budget Responsibility.
In an advance excerpt from her speech, Reeves criticized the previous government for stalling economic growth, resulting in significant financial losses for taxpayers.
"New Treasury analysis I requested over the weekend exposed the opportunities lost from this failure," she said.
"Had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD economies since 2010, it would have been over £140 billion (nearly $180 billion) larger. This could have brought in an additional £58 billion in tax revenues last year alone to sustain our public services."
Reeves concluded by asserting the new government's commitment to "fix the foundations" of the economy, signaling a clear departure from the policies of their predecessors, who voters overwhelmingly rejected last Thursday after 14 years in office.