The Chancellor has vowed that she will not return the UK to austerity ahead of the unveiling of her second Budget.
In a filmed video ahead of the Budget, Rachel Reeves said the Government had started to see results in the past year with ‘wages rising faster than inflation, hospital waiting lists coming down, and our economy growing faster and stronger than people expected’.
‘But I know there is more to do,’ she said. ‘I know that the cost of living is still bearing down on family finances, I know that people feel frustrated at the pace of change, or angry at the unfairness in our economy.
‘I have to be honest that the damage done from austerity, a chaotic Brexit and the pandemic were worse than we thought.
‘But I’m not going to duck those challenges, and nor will I accept that our past must define our future. It doesn’t have to.’
She described the Budget as being for ‘the British people’ and said the Government would work with them to ‘build a fairer, stronger and more secure Britain’.
Confused about this week’s Budget?
Hello, I’m Craig Munro: Metro‘s man in Westminster and writer of our weekly politics newsletter Alright, Gov?
Each week I break down the latest government policies and bring you insights from behind the scenes in the Houses of Parliament.
This week, my focus is on the Budget and how it will affect your wallet.
Sign up to my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss a thing on Wednesday.