Unapologetic defence of her fiscal rules as Reeves urges supporters to stay the course

Rachel Reeves used her speech in Liverpool to draw a sharp dividing line with her Tory predecessors - and with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK: “Never let anyone tell you that there’s no difference between a Labour government and a Conservative government.”

- Heather Stewart

In a restatement of Labour’s early achievements in government, received as a tonic by the party faithful in the hall, the chancellor pointed to a slew of spending promises.

Presented with a choice between “invest or decline”, Reeves said, “we chose investment”.

From £29bn for the NHS to school breakfast clubs, a slew of new transport links and 2,000 extra GPs, she was keen to underline the payoff from raising taxes and loosening her fiscal rules at last year’s budget.

Introduced before her speech by Matt, a welder from the Sizewell C nuclear facility, who thanked the chancellor for securing his industry’s future, Reeves drew another contrast with the Tories by highlighting Labour’s willingness to intervene in industry.