Chancellor insists she will stick to fiscal rules amid

RACHEL Reeves acknowledged she had been forced to reject calls for funding for “good” projects as she refused to loosen the rules governing her stewardship of the public finances.

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The Chancellor has been involved in wrangles with cabinet colleagues over departmental budgets ahead of next week's spending review.

She insisted her self-imposed “fiscal rules” were “non-negotiable” because she would not risk the economic chaos that could be caused if the markets lost faith in her ability to control spending.

The Chancellor said the combination of tax hikes she has already unveiled and the changes to the way borrowing for investment is accounted for meant £300bn extra was available over the coming years.

But she acknowledged this was not enough to meet the demands made by ministers.