Rachel Reeves looks like she's in a hostage situation - on borrowed time

I recently found myself in the unusual position of having a sliver of sympathy for Rachel Reeves, our battered and beleaguered Chancellor of the Exchequer. This momentarily lapse took place when her advisers thought it was a good idea to interrupt people's morning routine by getting their boss to address the nation from the Downing Street briefing room at 8.10am.

If we had not been told it was our current Chancellor warning us of an impending destructive and gloomy Budget, you would be forgiven for thinking you were watching a hostage video featuring someone who knew their future was doomed. And it is. Rachel Reeves is in the unfortunate position of carrying the can for this government's disastrous economic record to date. She is fully aware that her boss, Sir Keir Starmer, will dump her whenever necessary to save his own skin.

Despite pledging support for his Chancellor, he is a ruthless operator, who will put his own survival first. Politics is a grubby game where loyalty can disappear in an instant and Reeves knows this. But her imminent downfall, presumably in the wake of the forthcoming budget when the PM decides he needs another reshuffle-relaunch, is not just down to the cut and thrust of modern-day politics - she has done little to help herself.

We now have a breed of politicians who are often promoted beyond their ability. This is not just unique to the Labour Party, but sadly across the board. Reeves' track record to date leaves much to be desired. Earlier this year, questions were raised about the accuracy of her online CV with claims that she had overstated the seniority of certain positions and the length of time in various roles.

Her CV claimed she was an 'economist' at banking and insurance company HBOS, yet former colleagues told the media that was not the case. Her online entry was later changed to working in 'retail banking' for the Halifax bank. There is a big difference between the two.

As Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick posted on social media at the time: "Reeves said she was an economist. Turns out she's just economical with the truth."

It was also revealed that she overstated the time she worked at the Bank of England. In an unearthed 2021 interview, she claimed she had spent a decade there, but it turned out to be only six years and one of those years was apparently spent studying at the London School of Economics. Reeves blamed the errors made on her LinkedIn online CV entry on one of her staff and the inaccurate claims were amended.

In 2023, she launched a book called The Women Who Made Modern Economics and it became clear quickly that some sentences had been lifted from elsewhere.

One newspaper claimed that their reporters had spotted more than 20 examples of apparent plagiarism in the book, including entire sentences and paragraphs. Reeves denied plagiarism and, when tackled about it in an interview, admitted: "I should have done better."

Then there was the recent embarrassment regarding failing to obtain a rental licence for her south London home. She admitted mistakenly breaking the housing rules set by Labour-run Southwark Council and initially claimed that she was unaware of the requirement. It later transpired from various emails that her husband had been informed about the rules for landlords operating in that area.

Aside from accuracy and judgment issues, one of her biggest misdemeanours was her first Budget in October 2024 which hammered British business. In the run up to last year's general election, Reeves did the circuit of business leaders to assure them that she and her Labour Party understood how British business works and their need for support. Yet once in power, she introduced a Budget that increased the National Living Wage and raised the amount paid by employers in National Insurance.

The double-whammy of these measures is being felt today as unemployment continues to rise as many businesses can no longer afford to hire people.

Rachel Reeves has been consistent in one thing and that is blaming everyone else for the economic mess she has created. Attacking the Tories or Brexit for our financial woes will not fool the British public. It was a pitiful sight watching the Chancellor deliver her speech last week - she looked haunted and broken.

The Budget on 26 November will be grim. There is an economic hole to be plugged entirely from the Chancellor's own making. Instead of radical spending cuts we will end up paying more in some form of increased taxation due to her financial mismanagement.

Rachel Reeves is on borrowed time - the Prime Minister knows it; his MPs know it and so does she.