Rachel Reeves had to deal with unexpected turbulence in her party conference speech, after anti-Israel protesters interrupted her. But that was the easy bit, since she just opted to go for the Labour line for stage disruption: ‘We are a changed Labour party that represent working people – not the party of protest’. That response received applause in the hall, where delegates regularly cheered on the first female chancellor. The harder task for Reeves today was finding a way to hold the line on difficult spending decisions, while also striking a more upbeat tone than the miserable-ism that has dominated the past few weeks.
Reeves made it clear she would not be reversing her decision to cut the winter fuel allowance, despite criticism from the unions. She said: ‘I know not everyone – in this hall, or this country – will agree with every decision I make. But I will not duck those decisions.’ She also stuck to her claims of a £22 billion blackhole in the public finances, which will lay the groundwork for a difficult Budget. She said that not taking tough action now would ‘pose risks for years to come’.
The audience she has to win over is largely outside the hall
Then came the pivot to positivity. Reeves said that despite all of the above, her ‘optimism for Britain burns brighter than ever. My ambition for Britain knows no limits’. She went on: ‘I can see the prize if we make the right choices now’. She also appealed to the party’s base, by announcing a Covid corruption commissioner to try to claim back money spent via the so-called ‘pandemic VIP lane’ on faulty PPE.
Reeves was given a lengthy standing ovation. However, the audience she has to win over is largely outside the hall. The government is quickly losing support even before it has hit the 100-day mark, partly down to a pensioner backlash. Reeves faces critics to the left of her, amongst some backbenchers and unions. But the audience she really wants to speak to – and the one much of this speech was aimed at – is business. Reeves spoke of stability and a plan that would bring prosperity to the UK. She is trying to calm business concerns, amid worries that some of the doom and gloom narrative of the past month is starting to hit investor confidence. It’s this that Reeves wants to correct, with her investment summit around the corner. Today she made the right mood music – but the real test will be next month’s Budget and whether the measures offer any further reasons for alarm.
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