Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has raised alarm that Britain may be forced into a humiliating IMF bailout, warning of “eerie parallels” with the 1976 sterling crisis.
In an interview with BBC, Badenoch said she is “really worried” that without a concrete growth plan, the UK could be pushed into the same situation that saw Jim Callaghan’s Labour government borrow $3.9bn from the International Monetary Fund nearly 50 years ago.
“We are not growing enough. If Labour continues with no plan for growth, we’ll end up going to the IMF cap in hand,” Badenoch said.
The Tory leader accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of presiding over a “doom loop” of rising taxes, shaky public finances, and soaring borrowing costs.
Badenoch, however, offered to work with Labour “in the national interest” if welfare spending is slashed and the two-child benefit cap maintained.
Her intervention comes as bond markets rattle the government, with UK borrowing costs recently hitting a 27-year high before easing.
Labour hit back sharply, blasting her warnings as “astonishing hypocrisy.”
“Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives crashed the economy and sent mortgages spiralling. The brass neck to offer advice now is beyond belief,” a Labour source fired.
Economists remain divided, with some on the right warning of “eerie parallels” with 1976, while others dismiss bailout fears as hyperbole.
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