Rachel Reeves will vow there will be “no return” to austerity under a Labour government as it continues to come under criticism in a row over donations.
Speaking at the party’s conference in Liverpool later, the chancellor will say that her first budget, due on 30 October, will “rebuild Britain” and deliver the change people voted for at the election which awarded Labour its first election victory since 2005.
Ms Reeves will make her speech in the shadow of the row over donations accepted by the prime minister and a number of cabinet ministers – and against the backdrop of hostile briefings about Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray.
The government has come under fire for projecting an image of “doom and gloom” and warning of a “painful” budget while seemingly accepting hundreds of thousands of pounds in gifts and donations from wealthy donors.
Earlier this week Sir Keir said he would no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, and neither would Ms Reeves or Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
‘A budget to rebuild Britain’
The chancellor has defended making “tough decisions” – such as the one to strip most pensioners of their winter fuel payment – on the grounds that economic growth will come once the government has achieved economic stability.
One of her first acts as chancellor was to claim that her predecessors left a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances which Labour has been forced to fill.
Throughout the general election campaign, Labour pledged not to increase major taxes – national insurance, income tax and VAT – a promise she will make again in her speech today.
She will also say corporation tax is to remain at its “current level for the duration of this parliament”.
