'Never again': Rachel Reeves vows Labour will never repeat 'devastation' of Tory mini-budget
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledges to restore 'economic credibility' as ITV News Political Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports from Liverpool
Words by Lucy McDaid, ITV News Westminster Producer
The Labour Party would "never allow" a repeat of the economic "devastation" caused by the Conservatives' mini budget and will "get Britain its future back", Rachel Reeves has pledged.
In a speech delivered to a packed auditorium at the party's annual conference, the shadow chancellor said a Labour government would "restore economic credibility" and get Britain building.
Flanked by Sir Keir Starmer and the entire shadow Cabinet, Ms Reeves said voters face a choice - "five more years of Tory chaos" or a "changed Labour Party".
This year's conference in Liverpool is likely to be the last before the next general election, with Reeves' speech on Monday a momentous pitch to the nation and, crucially, voters.
"Out of the wreckage of Tory misrule, Labour will restore our economic credibility," Ms Reeves said as she opened the keynote speech.
"We will lift our living standards, make work pay, rebuild our public services, invest in homegrown industries in every corner of our country, and together we will get Britain its future back."
The former Bank of England economist was speaking on the same day the prime minister was asked by a worker in Nottingham why people should vote for the Conservatives "with the mess left by your predecessor".
Rishi Sunak laughed and said he would deliver change - the same sentiment he voiced in his major speech at last week's Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
Elsewhere, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt criticised Ms Reeves' speech within minutes of it finishing, posting on X: "Oops…when the biggest single issue for the economy is inflation it doesn’t get ONE mention from the Shadow Chancellor?
"Because adding £28 bn a year to borrowing will push it up - meaning higher mortgages, higher debt interest and lower growth…"
A worker in Nottingham asks Rishi Sunak: 'Why should we vote Conservative and, more importantly, with the mess left by your predecessor, why should we vote for you?'
Ms Reeves pledged that a Labour government would reform the "antiquated" planning system to make it quicker and easier to build the infrastructure needed for modern industries and clean energy networks.
She said households would be rewarded for welcoming developments in their area: "And to tackle the litigation, which devours time and money before we even see shovels in the ground, and to make sure that when a local community hosts national infrastructure they will feel the benefits including through lower energy bills."
Ms Reeves also confirmed she would use her first budget as Chancellor to close the tax loopholes enjoyed by private schools - making them pay VAT and business rates.
"If Rishi Sunak wants a fight on this," Ms Reeves said, "about who has the most aspiration for our children, then I say, bring it on".
She said the money raised would go into the "93% of children" who are in state schools.
Among the numerous proposals announced in her speech, Ms Reeves outlined Labour's intention to scrap the non-dom tax status and put the extra revenue into the NHS. She told delegates: "If you make your home in Britain, you should pay your taxes here too, and with Labour you will.”
'If Rishi Sunak wants a fight on this... about who has the most aspiration for our children, then I say, bring it on," Rachel Reeves says at a speech in Liverpool
Other proposals announced on Monday
A crackdown on Ministers using private planes
A new Covid corruption commissioner with a "hit squad" of investigators to recoup money lost in the "carnival of waste" during the pandemic
A new fiscal lock, guaranteeing in law that any government making significant tax and spending changes will be suspect to an independent OBR forecast
An independent inquiry into HS2 to "learn the lessons for the future"
A "genuine living wage" that takes into account the "real cost of living"
The measures announced in the shadow chancellor's speech form part of Labour’s drive to increase economic growth, which is central to Sir Keir Starmer’s aim of funding public service improvements.
She used the speech to attack the Conservatives and flip on its head the usual Tory narrative that Labour is the party of fiscal irresponsibility.
She said a Labour government would "not waver from iron clad fiscal rules" nor "play the Tory game of undermining our economic institutions."
Concluding, Ms Reeves told delegates: “We have changed this party so that we may have the chance to change our country. “Labour will fight this next election on the economy. Every day we will expose what the Conservatives have done to our country.” She questioned: “Frankly, is there anything in Britain that works better than when the Conservatives came into office 13 years ago?” Ms Reeves said of Labour: “We are here – ready to serve, ready to lead, and together, we can – and we will – rebuild Britain.”
Her speech was followed by a video clip from former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who endorsed Ms Reeves as "a serious economist" who "understands the big picture".
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