Former prime minister Boris Johnson sharply criticized the Labour government’s economic strategy in a column for the Daily Mail, saying the administration has lost credibility with markets and the public and urging spending cuts.
Johnson wrote that reasonable voters are reaching a breaking point and described Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership in pejorative terms, arguing the government is “completely incapable of taking the country forward.” He placed the principal blame on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, whom he accused of eroding Britain’s reputation for basic economic competence.
In the column, Johnson attributed higher government borrowing costs to market perceptions of policy weakness under Labour. He asserted gilt yields had reached a 30-year high and said the annual cost of servicing the debt had risen to about £111 billion, figures he used to underscore his argument that the government must show it will cut spending. He warned that a combination of higher spending and the tax rises in Chancellor Reeves’s October 2024 budget had damaged growth and investor confidence.
Johnson criticized specific elements of the October budget, saying it included unexpected tax increases that hit farmers, independent schools, non-domiciled residents and businesses, and raised National Insurance Contributions to 15 percent. He characterized the package as having stifled growth and described a self-reinforcing cycle of weaker confidence, falling investment, slower growth and lower tax revenue — a sequence he termed Labour’s “Doom Loop.”
He also named other public figures and controversies in his column, saying they were predictable from those individuals’ histories. Johnson referenced allegations involving Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and former Labour minister Peter Mandelson as examples, but he framed those as peripheral to his main economic critique.
Johnson called attention to public spending pressures more broadly, citing an increase in mental health care costs since the COVID-19 pandemic and warning that entitlements and welfare spending were rising. He argued markets were reacting to what he described as Labour’s reluctance to reform entitlements and to restrain public spending.
The former prime minister suggested technological opportunities such as artificial intelligence could be used to lower government costs, and he urged Starmer to set out a strategy for using technology to reduce the size or cost of the state. He wrote that Labour’s apparent unwillingness to cut public sector jobs or contest union demands was contributing to market concern.
Johnson’s column is a continuation of his public commentary since leaving Downing Street. He remains a prominent voice within the Conservative movement, though he does not hold office. The piece does not include responses from government officials; Labour and the Treasury did not provide comment within the column itself.
Independent verification of some numerical claims in the column — including the precise level of gilt yields and the £111 billion figure for debt servicing — would require consultation of current market data and official public finance statistics. Economists and market analysts typically attribute changes in borrowing costs to a mix of domestic policy expectations, global market conditions and investor risk appetite.
Labour took office in July 2024 and Chancellor Reeves delivered a budget in October 2024 that included measures intended to balance spending commitments with revenue measures, according to public records. Reeves and other government ministers have defended the party’s economic approach as balancing investment in public services with fiscal responsibility, saying that long-term growth and stability remain priorities.
Johnson concluded his column by urging decisive fiscal tightening to restore market confidence and by reiterating his view that the government must act to prevent further erosion of economic prospects. His comments add to a wider public debate in Britain over fiscal policy, public spending priorities and how best to restore investor confidence amid competing political pressures.