'No one said this would be easy': Reeves warns of 'harder choices' ahead as she vows to avoid economic risk taking

Speaking on day two at the event in Liverpool, Ms Reeves vowed to build a “renewed economy for a renewed Britain” following 14 years of Tory rule.

“No one said this was going to be easy,” she argued as she defended her record as Chancellor so far.

Ms Reeves said the British public voted for a government that would "invest in Britain's renewal", vowing to deliver this with a “secureonomics” approach.

“No longer would we turn a blind eye to where things are made and who makes them, or shrug our shoulders when the national interest is on the line, because a strong economy must rest on strong foundations.

“I call that approach securonomics,” she said.

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It means not taking risks with economic stability, she added.

Ms Reeves went on to blame national debt squarely on the Conservatives, arguing repayments are being made "to overseas hedge funds and investors".

The Chancellor hit out at those who "peddle the idea that we could just abandon economic responsibility and cast off any constraints on spending".

She said that there "is nothing progressive, nothing Labour, about government using one in every £10 of public money it spends on financing debt interest".

Ms Reeves warned: "In the months ahead, we will face further tests, with the choices to come made all the harder by harsh global headwinds and the long-term damage done to our economy, which is becoming ever clearer.”

But she also announced a string of new measures she claimed would bring a boost to the economy and protect working people, and repeated throughout her speech: "Never let anyone tell you there is no difference between Labour and Tories".

She vowed to abolish long-term youth unemployment and protect a generation of young people who were "frozen out of employment, education, or training".

Ms Reeves pledged "record investment in skills to support our young people" at the Spending Review in June, as she confirmed the rollout of a "Youth Guarantee".

"Every young person will be guaranteed either a place in a college, for those who want to continue their studies, or an apprenticeship, to help them learn a trade vital to our plans to rebuild the country, or one-to-one support to help them find a job," she said.

She also confirmed negotiations with the EU on a Youth Mobility Scheme, as she called for “rejecting the politics of isolation and division, for which our young people pay the gravest price".

"It means defying those voices which claim to speak in the national interest, but which demand that our people, our communities, and our businesses suffer the consequences of a Britain cut off from the rest of Europe,” she said.

Ms Reeves also said Labour would continue to fight to reclaim misspent money on PPE contracts and Covid “corruption”, as she told the party’s conference “We want our money back”.

She added that the Government had already recovered nearly £400 million through its Covid corruption commissioner and announced a new “hit squad” to recover more.

"In the coming months, we are bringing in additional new powers to investigate and recover more money from fraudsters who have ripped off the Government, and ripped off our public services.

“And I can tell you today, too, that to deploy those new powers, we are recruiting a new hit squad to investigate and recover all the money that is owed to the British people. Because conference, we want our money back.

“We are getting that money back, and we are putting it where it belongs, in our communities, in our schools and in our National Health Service.”

The Chancellor then reeled off a list of investments and achievements the Labour government has made, including in rail infrastructure in St Helens, "major investment" in Mersey Rail and new tram stops in Greater Manchester.

She also pointed to investment in a mass transit system linking Bradford and Leeds and rail projects in Wales, adding that Labour will "push ahead" with its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail – the high-speed rail link between Liverpool and Manchester that was stalled under the Conservatives.

Ms Reeves pledged to put a library in every primary school in England. She said there are 1,700 primary schools without a library and she wants to see that changed.

The Chancellor claimed mortgage costs are coming down and that people are getting better off under Labour after blasting former Prime Minister Liz Truss for spooking financial markets and triggering spiralling mortgage rates.

Ms Reeves also warned Nigel Farage and his party Reform UK represent the "single greatest threat" to British standards and values, saying "they're not on the side of the working people".

"Who is standing up for Britain's national health service?" she asked.

A government investing "record amounts in our NHS" or Reform, which she said opposes this principle of the system.

She was also interrupted by a pro-Palestinian heckler who she confronted during the speech.

“We understand your cause and we are recognising a Palestinian state.

“But we are now a party in Government, not a party of protest.

“And I’m proud to stand here as your Chancellor, the Chancellor that has increased the minimum wage, the Chancellor that is introducing free breakfast clubs and free school meals, a Chancellor has overseen five cuts to interest rates. That’s the difference we make, and that is the difference we make in power, not through protest.

“Our party has changed, and that is why I am standing here, proud to be your Chancellor of the Exchequer.”

She received applause from the audience in the conference hall.