We won't give unions a blank cheque - Reeves

Rachel Reeves has insisted there will be "no blank cheques" for public sector unions amid Conservative claims that the government's attempt to end long-running strikes has made it a soft touch.

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The chancellor said there had been no caving in to train drivers and junior doctors, and defended her decision to accept recommendations of pay review bodies for real terms increases for the police, teachers and the armed forces on the grounds that they were needed to recruit and retain staff.

Interviewed on a visit to Liverpool to see a new rent-to-buy housing development in the city's docklands, the chancellor dropped a strong hint that she intended to give herself extra scope to borrow by changing the definition of how debt is calculated to meet the government's self-imposed fiscal rules.

Reeves stressed that the budget would contain tough tax, spending and welfare measures but said she wanted to be seen as a chancellor that took the "fair and right decisions".