Reeves pledges investment to ‘rebuild Britain’ will feature in Budget
The Chancellor will signal future investment in public services after weeks of emphasising the difficult economic legacy Labour has inherited.
The Government’s autumn Budget statement will be used to “rebuild Britain” and deliver on the change Labour offered at the election, Rachel Reeves is to pledge.
The Chancellor will make her speech at the Labour Party conference on Monday as ministers seek to move out from under the shadow of a row about donations.
After weeks of warning about a poor economic legacy left by the Conservative government, Ms Reeves is also expected to signal a path towards further public investment, which she will claim is the “solution” to the UK’s growth problem.
The Chancellor’s speech comes after Sir Keir Starmer vowed Labour would not return to an austerity agenda to deal with public spending pressures.
Ms Reeves will insist economic stability is “the crucial foundation on which all our ambitions will be built”, as she seeks to justify to Labour members the spending restrictions which are aimed at filling a £22 billion “black hole” in public finances.
Labour top brass is braced for a clash with the unions over one of these measures: the cut to winter fuel payments for most pensioners.
But Ms Reeves will join Sir Keir in maintaining “there will be no return to austerity” in an appeal to the Labour movement.
“Conservative austerity was a destructive choice for our public services – and for investment and growth too,” the Chancellor will say.
She is expected to add: “We must deal with the Tory legacy and that means tough decisions. But we won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain.
“So it will be a budget with real ambition. A budget to fix the foundations. A budget to deliver the change we promised. A budget to rebuild Britain.”
In a signal of Labour keeping its manifesto commitments, Ms Reeves will promise not to raise national insurance, income tax and VAT.
She will also say corporation tax is to remain at its “current level for the duration of this Parliament”.
Jeremy Hunt, the shadow chancellor, contested Labour’s assessment of the UK economy, and claimed Ms Reeves had “already damaged the UK’s international reputation by talking down her inheritance in order to score political points”.
He added: “If she believes in growth, where is the plan? People are beginning to suspect there may not be one.
“If all we get in the Budget is tax rises and employment laws that deter investment and job creation she will have thrown away a golden opportunity.”
