Rachel Reeves insists she will not resign as Chancellor and refuses four times to rule out tax rises
Speaking with Andrew Marr, the Chancellor also told LBC that there are no plans afoot to change the triple lock.
Rachel Reeves has insisted she will not resign even if she has to hike taxes as she refused four times to rule out raising rates.
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Branding the UK economy a "mess", Reeves told LBC that "our economy's been through the mill" in recent years, insisting her past economic decisions had been made "in good faith".
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr, the Chancellor was asked if resigning would be the "honourable" thing to do should she resort to such a measure.
But instead, Reeves stood firm and said: "I am not going to walk away because the situation is difficult.
"I was appointed as Chancellor to turn our economy around, and I'm absolutely determined to finish that job.
"What do you think would happen in financial markets if I (resigned)?"
Read more: Economists urge Reeves to make ‘difficult’ choices to boost market confidence
Read more: Reeves puts country on notice for tax hikes as ‘each of us must do our bit’
"It depends who took over, I guess," Andrew retorted, explaining that the easy option would be to "massage the figures" and echo previous Chancellors.
Ms Reeves fired back: "I have been able to build a reputation and have been trusted with the public finances.
"I've steered our economy through some challenging times the last 15 months, increases in global tariffs, increases in volatility, increased tensions around the world, and yet our bond yields are lower than they were a few months ago, and have outperformed our peers.
"The FTSE is close to record highs. Our economy in the first half of this year was the strongest growing in the G7. So, I am not going to walk away because the situation is difficult.
"I was appointed as Chancellor to turn our economy around, and I'm absolutely determined to finish that job."
Ms Reeves also refused on four occasions to answer whether she would look to raise income tax in the forthcoming Budget.
"My number one priority is to grow the economy," she insisted, adding there will be no change to the triple lock.
It comes as the Chancellor put the country on notice on Tuesday over tax rises in her Budget, insisting “each of us must do our bit”.
Refusing to recommit to Labour’s manifesto commitments not to raise income tax during her speech on Tuesday, national insurance or VAT, saying “we will all have to contribute”.
"I'm a progressive," Reeves insisted, before she was seen to hit out at the Conservatives over austerity measures after more than 16 months in power.
Reeves instead chose to pass-the-buck, reeling off a list of factors contributing to the current state of the economy.
"We had austerity, then we had a botched Brexit, we had Liz Truss's mini budget. And then of course, there's external events like the COVID pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine," she told Andrew.
"There's not going to be a return to austerity, we're not going to cut capital spending because that's what previous Chancellors did and that's why we have such weak productivity," she insisted, adding: "And I'm not just going to borrow more."
Describing today's announcement as "the biggest part of the budget, which is the Office of Budget Responsibilities reassessment of productivity," Reeves insisted the "technical" sounding terms have "real meaningful consequences".
During Tuesday's highly-unusual speech from Downing Street, the Chancellor said she will "make the choices necessary to deliver strong foundations for our economy" for "years to come," and warned that millions of people that “we will all have to contribute” towards repairing public finances.
She stressed international headwinds and rising costs of servicing the debt mountain - but squarely blamed Brexit and Tory austerity, suggesting 'longer-term factors' meant the economy "is not working as it should".
“As I take my decisions on both tax and spend, I will do what is necessary to protect families from high inflation and interest rates, to protect our public services from a return to austerity and to ensure that the economy that we hand down to future generations is secure with debt under control.
“If we are to build the future of Britain together, we will all have to contribute to that effort.“Each of us must do our bit for the security of our country and the brightness of its future.”
When asked whether she would raise taxes for working people, she said: “I will set out the individual policies of the budget on the 26th of November. That’s not what today is about. Today is about setting the context up for that budget.”
In the 2024 election manifesto, the party pledged: “We will ensure taxes on working people are kept as low as possible.
“Labour will not increase taxes on working people, which is why we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT.”
In recent weeks No 10 has repeatedly refused to re-commit to Labour’s manifesto pledges – fuelling speculation that its promise to avoid hiking income tax looks set to be broken.
During the speech in Downing Street on Tuesday morning she said: “Politicians of recent years have become addicted to shelling out for short term sticking plaster solutions rather than making long-term economic plans.”
She asked ‘what were the Tories doing for 14 years?’ and condemned ‘devastating consequences’ of austerity.
Blaming "years of economic mismanagement," she has been "dealing with the aftermath of Liz Truss's disastrous mini budget".
Adding that since her first budget last year, "the world has thrown even more challenges".
Taking a swipe at the Conservative Party, she said: "I understand the urge for easy answers. Politicians of recent years have become addicted to shelling out for short term sticking plaster solutions rather than making long term economic plans, they were irresponsible.”
She added: “Those who continue to push for easy answers are irresponsible. Now, the UK’s national debt now stands at 2.6 trillion pounds, equivalent to 94pc of GDP.
"Before the mini-Budget, our borrowing costs were in the middle of the pack compared to other advanced economies.
“But now we have the highest borrowing costs of any G7 country today, one in every £10 of taxpayers money.
"The choices I make in this Budget, this month, will be focused on getting inflation falling and creating the conditions for interest rate cuts to support economic growth and improve the cost of living."
Ms Reeves added: "The truth is that previous governments have not adequately faced up to these challenges. "Too often, political convenience has been prioritised over economic imperative.
"The decision to pursue a policy of austerity after the financial crisis dealt a hammer blow to our economy, gutting our public services and severing the flows of investment that would have put our country on a path to recovery.
"The years that followed were characterised by instability and indecision, with crucial capital investment continually sacrificed, and hard decisions put off again and again.
"And then a rushed and ill-conceived Brexit that brought further disruption as businesses trying to trade were faced with extra costs and extra paperwork."