British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has promised to make “necessary,” “urgent” and “very tough” choices to restore economic stability to the country.
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Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will promise on Monday that Britain will not return to “austerity” or widespread spending cuts, despite previous warnings of a tough budget aimed at repairing the economy’s foundations.
In his first budget, delivered on Oct. 30 after Labour’s victory in July’s election, Reeves suggested tax increases were likely because of a 22 billion pound ($29 billion) hole in the finances.
She also announced that millions of pensioners would lose their winter fuel payments, a decision the government says it did not want to make but which has been criticised by trade unions and other traditional Labour supporters.
In a keynote speech on Monday to the Labour party conference in the northern English city of Liverpool, Reeves will reiterate his commitment to taking the decisions needed to bring stability, which he said is “an essential prerequisite for businesses to invest with confidence and families to plan for their futures”.
“There will be no return to austerity. Conservative austerity was a destructive choice for our public services and for investment and growth,” Reeves is expected to say, according to excerpts of the speech.
“We must deal with the Tory legacy and that means tough decisions, but it will not cloud our ambitions for Britain.”
She will be expected to hint at a brighter future after inheriting difficult times, with criticism of Mr Reeves and Chancellor Keir Starmer being overly pessimistic and a donations scandal casting a pall over what should have been Labour celebrations of its first general election victory in 14 years.
“The benefits of making the right choices now are clear, and stability is the fundamental foundation on which all our ambitions are built,” she will say.
Mr Reeves will also reiterate Labour’s manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance, social security payments, VAT or corporation tax.
