Rachel Reeves has said her ambition is for the UK to be “the best place to start and grow a business” as she promised Labour will bring investment to Britain.
The chancellor, speaking to Sky News ahead of her keynote speech at Labour’s conference today, said by bringing stability to the economy her administration will be “the most pro-growth government that this country has ever seen”.
Ms Reeves said: “This is all part of our agenda, to be the most pro-growth government that this country has ever seen, because there is immense potential, huge potential in the creative industries and our professional services in tech industries, low carbon technologies.
“I want those jobs here in Britain.
“There’s a global race on for these jobs, but if we can make the changes, which I’m determined to bring about, I know we can get that investment to Britain, increased living standards and more money in people’s pockets.
“Vibrant communities, stronger high streets and Britain will be the best place to start and grow a business. That’s my ambition.”
Image: Starmer’s government has been seen as too negative so far. Pic: PA
Ms Reeves said she will set out how the government will achieve that during her speech in Liverpool at lunchtime today.
She repeated Labour’s manifesto pledge to not raise VAT, income tax or national insurance.
Advertisement
The chancellor is, however, expected to announce some changes at Labour conference. Any major announcements will be saved for the autumn budget on 30 October, though.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has been accused of being all doom and gloom since coming into power in July after a landslide victory but Ms Reeves appeared to be turning that around slightly.
She said: “If we can return that stability and reform our economy, I’ve never been so optimistic about our country’s future.
“If we can get this right, then there is no end to what we can achieve as a country.
“And that’s what I’m determined to do, to unlock the real potential that we have through stability, through reform, and then, crucially, through investment, which is a solution to the low growth that has bedevilled our economy this last decade or so.”
Conservative MP Gareth Davies, shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury, accused the chancellor of using her “discredited narrative on her economy inheritance to avoid taking responsibility for the choices she has made”.
He accused her of spending “billions on inflation busting public sector pay rises for trade union backers paid for by snatching £300 from pensioners at the same time accepting thousands of pounds in free clothes and luxury holidays whilst telling families to tighten their belts”.
“She must take responsibility for the political choices she is making, now and at her first Budget. We will hold Labour to account on the promises they made,” he said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:14
Lammy: ‘Britain is back’
Parties ‘rely on donations’
The row over Labour politicians accepting large donations has overshadowed the beginning of Labour’s first conference in government in 14 years, with Sir Keir taking more donations than any other MP.
Ms Reeves is on the lower end of the amount donated to her, and said the £7,500 she was given for clothes was from “an old friend” who wanted to donate to her campaign.
“I really appreciated that support, it made a big difference to me,” she told Sky News.
“It was never something that I planned to continue in government. As chancellor, that’s not something I’ll be doing.”
She added she understands people’s concerns but added politicians and parties rely on donations to campaign, which she thinks is right as taxpayers should not be funding them.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.
Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.
Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?
The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.
High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.
The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.
Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.
The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.
More on Emmanuel Macron
Related Topics:
However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.
French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.
A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.
“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.
“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”
It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.
“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.
“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.
He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.
“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.
“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.
“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”