Chancellor Rachel Reeves doubled down on her promise not to bring back austerity measures during her speech at the Labour party's annual conference in Liverpool on Monday (23 September).
Reeves accused the former Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak of spending money that "was not there", contributing to an identified £22bn fiscal hole, which she said would pose risks "for years to come" if not tackled now. However, the chancellor added that "there will be no return to austerity" because of the damage done in previous years. Nevertheless, she described years of Conservative rule as a "a destructive choice for our public services and for investment and growth too", forcing the current government to consider "tough decisions". Turning to the Budget, Reeves sai...
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