LONDON — The first few months of Britain’s fledgling Labour government have not exactly been rainbows and sunshine. Enter *checks notes* Rachel Reeves to try and brighten things up.
The famously strait-laced chancellor used her speech to Labour Party conference in Liverpool Monday to try and project government confidence after a damaging few weeks of headlines. Key message: “The good times are coming, honestly.”
So far in office, Labour has grappled with the early release of prisoners amid a jails crisis; it has slashed winter fuel payments for the elderly; complained about a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances left by the Conservatives; tackled race riots on Britain’s streets; faced awkward questions about donations and plum jobs for government allies; and seen its poll ratings slide. No pressure, then.
It wasn’t exactly a tub-thumping speech for the ages, but here’s how Reeves — who entered to some upbeat rock, which always assures us everything’s just dandy — tried to show the party faithful Labour really is “ready to deliver.”
1) We’re in power now…
What she said: In a show of party backslapping, Reeves welcomed more than 200 newly elected Labour MPs as part of “the most diverse parliament in our country’s history” — and talked up her own historic government gig. “I am the first woman chancellor because of that collective endeavor,” she added.
For the second year in a row, a big Labour speech was interrupted by a protestor — this time about continued U.K. armed sales to Israel. Reeves brushed off the interruption, talking up a “Labour Party that represents working people, not a party of protest,” to loud applause from the crowd.
What she meant: Both the historic nature of Reeves’ role and the shrugging off of the protester were clear reminders to Labour that they’re now very much in power, not just carping from the sidelines as they were reduced to during 14 years in opposition.
2) … and the hated Tories aren’t!
What she said: If all else fails, play the hits. Reeves took a colorful swipe at each Conservative leadership contender in turn, and said her party must have the “iron discipline” not to let them back into power. “Let’s resolve together today that we will not give them that chance,” she proclaimed.
What she meant: Unite or let that lot back in again. While the Tories are in disarray post-election kicking, Reeves tried to signal to the faithful that Labour can’t take power for granted.
3) Belt-tightening is good, actually…
What she said: Reeves reminded the conference hall of the difficult, and unpopular, decisions she has made in office so far — with a tough budget to come. She talked about reviewing which new hospitals to axe; cancelling new road and rail projects; and means-testing the winter-fuel payment. “I know not everyone in this hall, or in the country, will agree with every decision that I make, but I will not duck those decisions,” she said.
What she meant: Reeves has gambled that Brits’ trust in Labour’s economic grip hinges on her old friend “iron discipline” — and she’s keen to paint herself as the carrier of that flame. The argument is that without solid public finances, Labour can’t do much of anything.
4) …but not Tory belt-tightening
What she said: This was the key bit. Turning to next month’s budget, the first Labour fiscal event in 14 years, the chancellor vowed: “There will be no return to austerity.”
“Yes, we must deal with the Tory legacy, and that means tough decisions, but I won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain,” she said. “It will be a budget with real ambition. A budget to fix the foundations. A budget to deliver the change we promised. A budget to rebuild Britain.”
What she meant: There’s more to this government than just penny-pinching and blaming the Tories, honest. To try and prove the point, Reeves promised a new industrial strategy would be coming in October, a counter to “trickle-down, trickle-out economics.” Reeves talked up pay-rises for public sector workers as a tangible achievement in government. “We made that choice not just because public sector workers needed that pay rise, but because it was the right choice for parents, patients and for the British public, the right choice for recruitment and retention, and it was the right choice for our country,” she said.
5) We’re already getting results
What she said: In a personal section of the speech, Reeves waxed lyrical about the work of her parents, who were primary school teachers. And she used this to give a timeline for Labour’s big plan to set up breakfast clubs in every primary school across England from next April, something the party argues will help tackle child poverty and boost school attainment. “I will judge my time in office a success if I know that at the end of it there are working-class kids from ordinary backgrounds who lead richer lives, their horizons expanded, and able to achieve and thrive in Britain today,” she said.
What she meant: We might be paring things back for the pensioners, but there’s at least one state-backed policy to look forward to.
6) We really hate corruption, honest!
What she said: Reeves reiterated plans (announced a year ago) to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner looking into contracts handed out during the pandemic. “I won’t turn a blind eye to rip-off artists and fraudsters,” she said.
What she meant: Think we’re dodgy? What about those awful Tories?! This, along with reminders that the government has made progress in cutting down on consultancy spending, and has canceled a £40 million contract for a helicopter used by Conservative PM Rishi Sunak, helpfully jog people’s minds about the supposed excesses of the last administration at a time when the government is batting away questions about donor influence.
7) There are (vague) green pastures ahead
What she said: Speaking about the kind of country Labour wants to create, Reeves said “opportunity, fairness and enterprise” had felt “far off in recent years,” but insisted: “It doesn’t have to be that way.” In a vague, but colorful end to her speech, Reeves said that Britain’s “best days lie ahead” and that families shouldn’t feel like the “future is built somewhere else.”
She said she wants a Britain “trading, competing, and leading in a changed world,” as well as one “founded on the talent and the effort of working people.”
What she meant: This was the big picture stuff. Reeves — and the current Labour government as a whole — have been criticized in some quarters as bloodless technocrats, able to win an election but not quite sure what to do with power. Reeves will be hoping her speech reassures the party faithful, and the public at home, that there really is a grand vision of renewal in store.