Why Rachel Reeves’s double-non-denial denial on tax is asking for trouble

The shadow chancellor could not be clearer: there will be no wealth tax under Labour. Or any new tax rises at all. No wonder so many of the Left’s right-wingers are reeling, writes John Rentoul

Even George Osborne favoured a mansion tax, but the current shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, says no (PA Wire)

Rachel Reeves has finally succeeded in provoking a backlash. She and Keir Starmer have moved so sharply from neo-Corbynism to ultra-Blairism that even many Labour right-wingers are feeling dizzy.

The shadow chancellor gave an interview to The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend that outdid Gordon Brown for prudence. “We have no plans for a wealth tax,” she said. “We don’t have any plans to increase taxes outside of what we’ve said.”

When Edward Malnick, her interviewer, challenged her, pointing out that “no plans” was a typical non-denial denial, she said: “We won’t be doing that. It’s a denial. It’s not a non-denial, it’s just a denial.”