Preparing a Budget marked by austerity when one forgets - by pure chance no doubt - to pay a municipal fee is the kind of minefield no Finance Minister wants to step into. But that's where British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves finds herself, who has had to admit that she "inadvertently" did not pay the 945-pound (1,073 euros) fee required by law to rent her home in the East Dulwich area, a middle to upper-class area mainly inhabited by professionals in South London.
Reeves rented the property for 3,200 pounds per month, equivalent to 3,620 euros, which is a remarkably low figure for London in 2024, when the Labour Party won the elections and she moved to her official residence in Downing Street with her husband - also a high-ranking official, Nicholas Joicey - and their two children.
The revelation, first reported by the sensationalist tabloid 'Daily Mail', has been acknowledged by Reeves herself, who has informed Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Westminster Parliament's ethics office, where she is a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. According to the Finance Minister's spokespersons, the blame lies with the real estate agency that managed the rental. The minister, according to this version, "was not informed of the licensing requirement, but as soon as she became aware, she took the necessary actions and applied for the license." The regulation imposes a maximum fine of 30,000 pounds (34,100 euros) for forgetful individuals like Reeves.
The Conservative opposition, needing to take the lead as their rivals from Reform UK rise in the polls, has quickly called for Reeves' resignation. Although of much smaller scale, the scandal echoes the one that led Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to resign in September for failing to pay 40,000 pounds (45,400 euros) in the sale of a property.
But in Reeves' case, the political implications for Prime Minister Starmer's government are more serious. The Finance Minister is the public face of the austerity policy launched by the Prime Minister, aimed at reducing a 3% GDP deficit and easing financial market pressure on British debt, which still remains under some suspicion following the 'mini-budget' disaster of Liz Truss's Conservative government in 2022. Starmer has tied his political future to the Finance Ministry and, at the same time, has strengthened the Prime Minister's Office's control over Reeves, without showing support when her sick leave reform crashed in Parliament in June.
Now, this scandal comes less than a month before Reeves announces the 2026 Budget, which could either save or sink Starmer, whose public approval ratings continue to plummet.