Fewer than a fifth of voters say Reeves is doing a good job amid flatlining economy

Nearly half of voters think Rachel Reeves is doing a bad job as Chancellor, with fewer than a fifth backing the Chancellor, exclusive polling for The i Paper shows.

The poll piles pressure on the Chancellor ahead of her Spring Statement later this month when she faces having to raise taxes or make more cuts in order to meet her fiscal rules.

Just 18 per cent of those asked if they were satisfied with the way Reeves was doing her job said yes while 47 per cent said no.

It comes amid flatlining economic growth which may delay the pace of interest rates cuts and growing dissatisfaction among Labour MPs at the Chancellor’s performance.

The decision to cut winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and not to scrap the two-child benefit cap have all been causes of contention.

And the decision to increase employers national insurance contributions in October’s budget has also received widespread criticism, with the Bank of England suggesting it may have contributed to inflation as businesses employ fewer people or pass on the cost to consumers via higher prices.

Expanding inheritance tax to farmland as also proved controversial and sparked protests.

With a net satisfaction rating of -29, she is similarly unpopular to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (-30), but far less favoured than Reform leader Nigel Farage (-1) or Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch (+1).

Just 40 per cent of Labour voters were satisfied while 27 per cent were unsatisfied.

It will add to the significant pressure on the Chancellor ahead of her Spring Statement on 26 March, in which she has refused to rule out cutting public spending or even raising taxes in order to balance the books.

Reeves was also targeted by Anneliese Dodds as she resigned from the Cabinet over the decision to fund an increase in defence spending by slashing the aid budget by 40 per cent, with the former development minister arguing the Chancellor should have considered relaxing her rules on government borrowing or raised taxes to generate some of the cash.

On 26 March, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the official fiscal watchdog, will publish an update on the state of the public finances.

Reeves has promised that her Spring Statement, delivered on the same day, will not be a full-blown “fiscal event” with comprehensive changes to the existing tax rules and public spending regime.

But the Chancellor says her borrowing rules are “ironclad”, meaning that if the OBR decides they are at risk of being broken she will have to make some tax or spending tweaks.

Reeves has pledged not to fund day-to-day spending from higher borrowing, and has committed to the rule in order to reassure the markets that the UK’s economy is stable after a period of volatility.

She also claims she inherited a £22bn “black hole” from the previous government which needs plugging, and has said October’s tax rises would be a one-off in order to raise £40bn and fund an extra £22.6bn for the NHS.

Reports suggest, however, that the so-called £9.9bn Budget “headroom” – the difference between how much the Treasury is borrowing and the maximum allowed under the fiscal rules – has been wiped out amid weaker-than-expected growth and inflation running higher, which suggests borrowing is likely to increase.

But Reeves has a political headache after promising not to return with significant tax rises before the next election following a business backlash to her decision to hike the rate of national insurance paid by employers, as well as imposing inheritance tax on some farmland that was previously exempt.

If the shortfall proves to be only a few billion pounds, Reeves may be able to make up for it with relatively minor technical tweaks to the tax rules, but a larger black hole would prove more challenging.

Speaking during his trip to Washington DC last week, Starmer refused to rule out tax rises or spending cuts.

It comes as the polling also found Reform were ahead of both Labour and the Tories for the first time.

The BMG Research poll had Reform on 27 per cent, ahead of Labour on 26 per cent, although the lead was within the survey’s margin for error.

:: BMG polled 1,586 adults in Great Britain on 25 and 26 February online. Results were weighted to reflect the profile of adults in Great Britain. BMG is a member of the British Polling Council.