Working people WILL be better off...we just cannot do it all overnight

RACHEL Reeves is determined to make ordinary folk better off as she prepares to smash the obstacles restraining the economy.

- LIZZY BUCHAN

The Chancellor says putting more money into working people's pockets is driving every decision she makes.

And she pledges to go "further and faster" to fire up economic growth and fix the mess left by the Tories by getting Britain building, and giving the UK a confidence boost.

Ms Reeves admits it is impossible to fix everything overnight.

But she says: "I want working people to be better off, and that means we need to go further and faster in removing those obstacles that are stopping our economy from growing and delivering the improved living standards for people.

"I'm not satisfied with where we are today. Low growth is not our country's destiny. I am so much more ambitious for Britain... For 14 years, our growth has been anaemic. It's been on the floor.

"It's not been good enough. I'm determined this is going to be the government that turns that around."

WEALTH

Ms Reeves spoke to this newspaper from Noll Downing Street after a bruising start to the year in which market turmoil sent government borrowing costs soaring.

This hit the value of the pound, triggering an onslaught of criticism over the Chancellor's economic strategy.

But Ms Reeves believes her critics have been a "bit opportunistic".

She says: "When there are global movements, there's going to be movement in Britain. People who say this is a UK thing need to explain why government borrowing costs increased in America, Germany and France as well."