The Chancellor hinted that there will be further tax rises in November’s Budget as she addressed delegates at the Labour Party conference on Monday, as ITV News Political Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a tranche of measures aimed at sparking growth in the economy and filling the economic blackhole haunting the country’s finances.
Hailing the work her party had done in the first year in office, Reeves addressed the Labour Party conference on Monday, imploring her audience not to “let anyone tell you there is no difference between a Labour government and a Conservative government”.
While the chancellor was keen to repeat this phrase, she also made it clear whom Labour viewed as the real opposition, saying: “The single greatest threat to our way of life and to the living standards of working people is the agenda of Nigel Farage and the Reform Party.”
However, she also hinted at tax rises to come, saying there would be “further tests” in the months ahead and that choices would be “made all the harder by harsh global headwinds”.
In her speech, which was interrupted at one point by a pro-Palestine protester, the Chancellor also thanked Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his leadership, saying it was only due to his efforts that Labour were able to gain power in the first place.
“There will be a future for steel forged here on British soil,” Reeves claimed.
“Securonomics”
The chancellor began her speech by announcing new legislation aimed at making it easier for companies to prioritise British-built manufacturing when it comes to new infrastructure.
In a bid to back British manufacturing, Rachel Reeves hailed the work Labour had done to support businesses like British Steel, Jaguar Land Rover and shipbuilding in Belfast, Devon and Fife.
“I promised you we would run the economy differently. No longer would we turn a blind eye to where things are made and who makes them,” said the Chancellor.
“A strong economy must rest on strong foundations,” she added.
Aligning these economic decisions with “patriotism,” the chancellor said they were “not just an economic choice, but a test of our conviction, our patriotism and our labour values”.
School Libraries
Among the announcements made by the chancellor, was a commitment to ensure every primary school in England has a library or library space by the end of this parliament.
“Today in England there are 1700 primary schools that don’t have a school library,” said Reeves.
“That’s not right, and I will not let it stand.”
Referencing her own experiences in school, she claimed this policy was both a “statement of my values” and “a statement of the value that this government places on all our children’s futures.
“The Tories don’t make those choices. Reform would never make those choices,” she added, taking aim at political rivals.
The National Literacy Trust says one in seven UK primary schools do not have a library or library space, and her announcement has been welcomed by the National Education Union, which described it as “welcome,” but only a “first step.”
‘We are now a party in government, not a party in protest,” Reeves said to a pro-Palestine protestor who disrupted her speech.
Covid corruption
Again taking aim at Conservative rivals, Rachel Reeves recalled their time in office during the pandemic.
“While we were kept apart from our loved ones and feared for our families, the Conservatives partied in Downing Street and dished out contracts to their friends and donors,” she said.
“We’re still paying the bill for their waste and their cronyism, and we will continue that fight to recover more from those PPE contracts that failed to deliver.”
Announcing plans to continue recovering money lost to fraudulent Covid loans, Reeves promised new powers for officials to investigate mismanaged money during the pandemic, including the hiring of a “hit squad” aimed specifically at recovering this money for the British people.
“We are getting that money back and we are putting it where it belongs, in our communities, in our schools and in our National Health Service,” she said.
A “youth guarantee”
In a move the chancellor hopes will simultaneously reform the welfare state and ease youth unemployment, the chancellor announced a “youth guarantee” scheme, promising paid job offers or training placements to all young people claiming universal credit for 18 months or more.
Under the plans, young people who turn down a guaranteed job offer will face sanctions which could include the withdrawal of their benefits.
With a nod to her cabinet colleague Bridget Phillipson, who is herself standing in the Labour Party deputy leadership election, Reeves praised the work the education secretary had done to support the working-class children and the challenges they faced.
“Those barriers don’t just vanish the day a young person leaves school,” she said.
“Too many young people found themselves trapped, frozen out of employment, education or training.
“There’s no defending that. It’s bad for business, bad for taxpayers, bad for our economy, and it scars people’s prospects throughout the rest of their lives.”
The “youth guarantee,” which will be overseen by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, forms part of a pledge of “nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment.”
EU youth mobility
In a further move to boost the UK’s growth and improve the life opportunities of young people, Reeves announced a renewed commitment to establishing a mobility scheme between the UK and the EU.
In a further move aimed at boosting the UK’s growth and improving the life opportunities of young people, Reeves announced a renewed commitment to establishing a mobility scheme between the UK and the EU.
The ability for young people to live and work in EU countries was greatly complicated after the UK’s exit from the European Union.
“We should not cut young people off from opportunities that my generation took for granted,” Reeves said.
The chancellor went on to call for a rejection of “the politics of isolation and division, for which our young people pay the gravest price,” adding that this meant “defying those voices which claim to speak in the national interest but which demand that our people, our communities and our businesses suffer the consequences of a Britain cut off from the rest of Europe.”
She continued: “So as well as making it easier to trade with Europe, as well as making it easier to travel in Europe, I can tell you today that we are working with the European Union to secure for young people in Britain the maximum economic and cultural opportunities available through an ambitious agreement on youth mobility.”
The UK had previously agreed to work towards a “youth experience visa” with the EU in May. Several similar deals are already operational with countries such as Japan and New Zealand.
The chancellor hopes such a scheme may lead the Office for Budget Responsibility to look more favourably on UK growth, although, as the scheme is likely not to be operational until 2027 at the earliest, some economists say even if this were to be the case, the proposal wouldn’t be the quick fix the chancellor needs.
Responding to Rachel Reeve’s speech, the shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves says she won’t risk the public finances, but she’s already doing that – with more borrowing, higher spending, and more taxes. Labour has raised taxes by £40 billion per year, including a £25 billion tax on jobs, and now won’t rule out coming back for more.
“Labour refuse to tackle rising welfare costs and won’t commit to keeping the two-child benefit cap – just like Reform. Labour spends more, taxes more, and blames others when things go wrong. Under them, nothing is safe – not your job, savings, or pension.
“Only the Conservatives, under new leadership, will support business, control welfare, and live within our means to build a stronger economy.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
