Labour conference live: Rachel Reeves stands by winter fuel allowance cut as nurses reject 5.5% pay rise

The chancellor has been received with a standing ovation before thanking the crowd in Liverpool.

She said: “Conference, thank you. This time last year, I stood on this stage and I made a commitment. I promised that we would get Britain building again, repair our NHS and power growth in every part of Britain.

“Today, after 14 wasted years, I stand here as your chancellor of the exchequer, ready to deliver on that commitment.”

She added: “Labour is back in the service of communities we never should have lost in our port, coal, steel and mills towns... And Labour is back in Scotland too.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves received applause and a standing ovation from Labour Party delegates as she came to the panel ahead of her speech in the main conference hall.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds is now delivering his speech.

Gary Neville has defended Sir Keir Starmer after he accepted free tickets to Premier League matches, saying criticism of the prime minister was “absolutely incredible”.

He told a Labour Party conference fringe event: “I’m struggling with the free football tickets one quite a bit, to be honest with you, when I look at the absolute corruption we’ve seen in the last five, six, seven, eight years with people getting billions of pounds worth of contracts in VIP lanes.”

He added: “Keir Starmer’s paid for his season ticket to go with his family to watch Arsenal all his life and he’s now being told he can’t go to that same seat, when I’m sure he would – you know he would, everybody knows he would – he’s been told he’s got to go in a hospitality box, a private box.

“To be fair, a lot of the people complaining about him will end up in those types of boxes themselves, including myself at times.”

Mr Neville continued: “I find it absolutely incredible that this level of attention is now being paid to a Labour prime minister when I look at the absolute cronyism we watched for years under that lot.”

The chancellor is preparing to address the crowd at the main stage at the Labour conference in Liverpool.

Ms Reeves is expected to promise there will be “no return to austerity” despite warning of “tough spending decisions” ahead.

She has insisted there will be “real terms increases to government spending in this parliament” as part of the 30 October budget.

You can follow live the latest updates from 12pm.

The Tories have accused the Labour Party of hypocrisy after it emerged Angela Rayner used taxpayer funds to hire a “vanity” photographer.

Simon Walker was reportedly payed a salary of £68,000 to take photos for Ms Rayner’s Ministry of Housing.

John Glen, the shadow paymaster general, said: “This is just the latest in a long line of Labour ministers saying one thing and then doing another.

“Labour’s promise to cut the size of the government spin bill was nothing more than empty words, they’d rather spend taxpayers’ money on their own vanity projects than on keeping pensioners warm this winter.

“After scrapping Conservative plans to slim down civil service headcount, Labour should stop pretending that their decision to cut the winter fuel allowance was anything other than a political choice.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the photographer had been hired to chronicle the work of the department, not just Ms Rayner.

“Many government departments employ official photographers to share the work of the department and ministers with the public,” the department said.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves turned the tables on the BBC’s Nick Robinson while being grilled on her free clothes, pointing out the presenter took her to the Proms in an outing paid for by the broadcaster.

In an interview with the BBC, just hours before her speech to Labour’s conference in Liverpool, Ms Reeves defended the party from wider allegations of sleaze and cronyism centred on ministers’ repeated acceptance of gifts and freebies.

Our political correspondents Archie Mitchell and Millie Cooke have the full story: