Labour conference live: Rachel Reeves’ speech interrupted by pro-Palestine protester

The SNP Westminster leader has called the chancellor to “put down the axe” and boost investment to deliver economic growth.

Mr Flynn accused Rachel Reeves of “repeating the Tories’ mistakes” by planning “damaging austerity cuts”.

Ahead of her keynote speech at the Labour conference, he said: “Rachel Reeves is repeating the Tories’ mistakes by imposing damaging austerity cuts, which will starve the economy of investment and make things worse for families and public services.

“Fourteen long years of Tory cuts proved beyond doubt that austerity simply doesn’t work. Instead of ‘fixing the foundations’ it weakened them – reducing economic growth, squeezing wages, harming public services and pushing families into poverty.

“It’s no wonder the Labour Party is plummeting in the polls, when it has broken its promises to voters and is imposing billions of pounds of cuts, which economists are warning will hit growth.”

A new poll has revealed that three in five people expect Labour to lose the next general election in 2029.

Less than three months after Sir Keir Starmer’s landslide election, 60 per cent of voters think he will not secure a second mandate.

The poll, conducted by the More in Common think tank, also found more than half of those surveyed do not believe Sir Keir will lead Labour into the next election.

48 per cent of respondents said they believed he would still be prime minister by the next election, while 52 per cent said he will not.

The chancellor has said that she had not “expected” or “wanted” to make changes to winter fuel payments.

Rachel Reeves told the BBC’s Today programme on Radio 4 this morning that “I was not planning to make these changes to winter fuel payment.

“These were not changes that I expected to make or wanted to make, but when faced with a situation when there’s a £22 billion black hole – not some year in the future – but this year in the public finances, it requires difficult decisions.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said there will not “be a return to austerity” but that “detailed” spending by department will be “negotiated”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Ms Reeves said: “There won’t be a return to austerity, there will be real terms increases to government spending in this parliament.”

She told the programme that she has been “really clear” that the “only way to sustainably fund public services is through growing the economy.”

When pushed further on her spending plans, Ms Reeves added: “What I’m saying is there will not be real terms cuts to government spending, but the detailed department by department spending will be negotiated.”

Rachel Reeves has defended Angela Rayner in a row over the deputy prime minister reportedly hiring a vanity photographer to publicise her work.

The chancellor said it is normal for government departments to have communications budgets and stressed the photographer would not just promote Ms Rayner, but the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as a whole.

On Monday morning she told Times Radio: “All government departments under all governments have press officers and communications budgets. It’s not a personal photographer. It’s to promote the campaigning work of governments.”

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story:

Rachel Reeves has admitted people might “find it odd” that Labour MPs have received clothes as gifts.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, she denied that she was gifted the suit she was wearing.

Asked if she paid for the suit she was wearing, she said: “I did, the suit is from Hobbs and I bought it and I will be wearing it for my conference speech this afternoon.

“But I understand why you asked the question, and I can understand why people find it a little bit odd that politicians get support for things like buying clothes.”

She also defended MPs or shadow ministers accepting freebies like concert or football match tickets.

The chancellor pointed out that she has been to events like the First Night of the Proms with prominents BBC figures.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended the government’s winter fuel policy as she swerved questions about the timing of a debate at the Labour Party conference at which unions plan to push for its reversal.

Asked if the debate being moved from Monday to the final morning of the conference was Labour “running scared of this vote taking place prior to the prime minister’s address”.

She told Nick Ferrari on LBC: “I don’t know the situation about when votes take place, but if delegates want to vote on this, they will get a vote on this.

“I don’t know the timing of the vote, but we’ve already had a vote in parliament where it was overwhelmingly passed.

“This isn’t the decision that I wanted to make. It wasn’t a decision that I expected to make, but given the state of the public finances that I inherited, I think it was right to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners, and to make sure that all of the pensioners entitled to it are getting it.”

Rachel Reeves has promised that there will be no return to austerity ahead of her keynote speech.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the chancellor was pressed over a £17bn economists believe Labour will have to raise to fill the black hole in the budget.

Ms Reeves said: “We’re doing the spending review in two parts. There will be the settlement for next year, made on October the 30th at the budget, and then next spring, we’ll be doing the settlements for the next two years.”

She did not rule out real terms curts to departments but suggested there will be no return to austerity.

Rachel Reeves told BBC’s Today programme that she found a £22bn black hole cover up when she became chancellor.

She accused the Tories of being “dishonest with people” about what was coming and said the Conservatives lost because the economy was in bad shape.

But she said today she would be setting out the “prize” on offer if the economy grows.

The chancellor added that she was being “honest” about the scale of the challenge and will be setting out the policies to reform the economy.

Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out ending HS2 at Old Oak Common rather than Euston, in central London.

The chancellor was asked whether, after Rishi Sunak cut the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the high speed rail project, she could guarantee it would continue as planned.

But she told LBC it was a “decision we will have to set out in the budget” next month.

“I will look at all those proposals,” Ms Reeves said, leaving open the prospect it could be cut further.