The BBC has found itself on the receiving end of some rather frustrated complaints following an interview with Rachel Reeves on Monday morning’s Breakfast.

The Chancellor had plenty to discuss during her appearance on the show, including potential changes to VAT at the next Budget, as well as proposals to guarantee work placements for young people who’ve been unemployed for 18 months.

Labour’s tumultuous first 14 months in government were, as ever, also a talking point, with Ms Reeves staunchly standing by her party’s conduct, despite polling suggesting Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the least popular PM on record.

Keen to hear more about the imminent Budget, Ms Nugent kicked things off on Monday with the simple probe: “Can you tell us what the situation is going to be with VAT? What might happen?”

Ms Reeves replied: “Well, we made a commitment in our manifesto, and those commitments do stand, and they stand for a reason.

“Because in the last Parliament, it was ordinary working people who bore the brunt of the economic mismanagement, whether it was increases in interest rates or increases in prices in the shops.

“And that’s why I’m determined, as we grow the economy — and we have had the fastest growing economy in the G7, wages are rising faster than prices now – of course, there’s more to do, but that’s why we’ve made those commitments: to protect working people so they’ve got more money in their pockets.

“And I know that the cost-of-living challenges continue to bite and continue to be very real for many families right across our country, and that’s why those commitments stand,” she continued, before Ms Nugent eventually chipped in: “So Chancellor, you’re saying no rise in VAT?”

Ms Reeves repeated: “Well, we made those commitments for a reason, and those commitments stand. And judge me on my record: I had a Budget last year, and people said, ‘Oh, she’s not going to be able to honour those manifesto commitments’, but we did.

“I had to make some difficult decisions, I protected the pay packets of working people, and we did not put up the prices in the shops. That’s very important to me, because I do recognise, still, that the biggest challenge for families in all parts of the UK is the cost of living.

“And, you know, we have made progress in this first year. If someone had said 15 months ago, that in the first 15 months of this Labour government, you’ll have the fastest growing economy in the G7, five cuts to interest rates, wages rising faster than the cost of living, those increases in the national living wage and the national minimum wage — I think people would have said, that’s not possible.

“But we did all of that, without increasing the key taxes that working people pay, and that’s why I stand by those commitments that I made in the manifesto. Because I am absolutely determined that, unlike the last Parliament, at the end of this Parliament, working people are going to feel, in their bank balances, in their pockets, that they are better off.”

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Rather than challenge Ms Reeves on the “difficult decisions” she’s taken that have resulted in such declines in the polls, Ms Nugent moved to ask about Labour’s pledge to get young people into work.

“They could be in the retail sector, they could be in our cultural industries, they could be in government,” Ms Reeves explained. “There’s a whole range of jobs, and we’ve seen a welcoming of this from business organisations today, often who do struggle to recruit the young people with the skills they need, who do complain often that young people are not putting themselves forward for work, and that’s why we are making this offer.”

She continued: “We will work with businesses, but today, one in eight young people are not in education, employment or training. That is not acceptable. It’s bad for them, it’s bad for businesses, and it’s bad for taxpayers.”

Ms Nugent did have a follow-up question in this instance: “What happens if the job that the young person is offered isn’t something they want to do and they turn it down?”

Ms Reeves answered, unchallenged: “Well, it’s always been the case that benefits are not an alternative to work. Benefits are there if there’s no work available, and this is not any different from that.

“So if there is a job available, if there are training places available, then you’ve got to take those up. I want a system based on contribution and on reciprocity. You put something in, and when you need support, that support is there for you, whether that is an NHS free at the point of need, or a welfare state, or a skills system that is there to provide the training.

“But we can’t have a system — we must never have a system — that benefits are some alternative to work. That is not acceptable. It’s not, frankly, affordable.”

Later, Ms Reeves was asked to reflect on her time as Chancellor over the past 14 months and the verdict she would give herself.

“What I’d say is I’ve been Chancellor now for 451 days, and they’ve been difficult days. Some of them have been very public, but I wouldn’t swap them for any of the 5,000 days that I spent in opposition before that, because every one of those 451 days has been an opportunity to change our country for the better,” she replied.

“Whether it is the youth guarantee to help young people to get into work, those libraries in primary schools to ensure that all children get a good start in life, free breakfast clubs extending free school meals, reducing NHS waiting lists by 200,000, increasing the national living wage and the national minimum wage, building more homes so that first-time buyers and families can have a say in the housing market, I’m really proud of all these things.

“Has it been easy? No. I didn’t go into this thinking it was going to be easy. I’m really proud of what we’ve done. I’m the first to admit there’s more to do.

“We’re 15 months into this government, and as the first Labour Chancellor in 14 years and the first female Chancellor in 800 years, I am genuinely loving this job and the chance to serve, because that’s what I came into this for, just the chance to serve and make our country a bit better off.”

‘Has it been easy, no, but there is more to do’

Rachel Reeves admitted ‘there’s been difficult days’ as she was questioned on #BBCBreakfast about her first 14 months as Chancellor https://t.co/ZsoCTPMqi6 pic.twitter.com/UZELPZORPG

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 29, 2025

Clips of Ms Nugent and Ms Reeves’ interview have quickly been shared far and wide on social media, and it’s safe to say many watching at home have been left unimpressed with the way the Chancellor was able to reel off her answers without any form of robust scrutiny.

Ms Nugent came under particular fire by some watching at home, including one X user who hit out: “Jeez. Her record is appalling. This interview was like being mauled by a kitten. Has the BBC lost its teeth? @TVNaga01 would have challenged the c**p she came out with.”

“You’re not answering the question, you’re going back to your manifesto, which is hard to read anyway, each question? Sally, go after her, get my answer!!” a second pleaded.

Elsewhere, a third fumed: “Stop asking her questions about what’s in the budget. You know she’s not going to tell you. Please ask better questions, Sally.”

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“Tried to watch @RachelReevesMP on @BBCBreakfast without gagging. To sum up, ‘difficult decisions, working people, the rest of you can curl up & die’. Tepid interviewing from Sally Nugent,” a fourth criticised.

A fifth echoed: “@BBCNews @BBCBreakfast we note Rachael Reeves is not only personally delusional but that you, Sally, a self-named ‘journalist’, seem unable to pull her up on any of her disingenuous propaganda or blatant mis-truths.”

And a sixth let loose: “They never answer the simple questions like what happens if they don’t take the work. Instead, we get politician waffle for the next minute.”
However, some argued that Ms Nugent had been too strong in her questioning and phrasing towards the Chancellor.

Arguing against the backlash to the interview, another X user weighed in: “Sally Nugent to Rachel Reeves: ‘You’ve had a horrible year’. That was subtle, Sally NOT.

“We endured 14 horrible years of Tory. Aided and abetted by TORY-run BBC! We’ve had more than enough of your bias. #bbcbreakfast.” (sic)