Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she will not decide to tax cuts

Rachel Reeves refused to commit to tax cuts under a Labour government as she warned against ‘dangerous and reckless’ unfunded pledges made by the Conservatives.

The Shadow Chancellor told the Daily Mail that she would like to see National Insurance and Income Tax come down – but only when the nation’s economy had stabilised.

Speaking to an audience of business leaders at Rolls-Royce’s plant in Derby, she said Labour’s own pledges – including recruiting 6,500 new teachers and slashing NHS waiting lists – were fully costed and would not require any new tax rises.

And invoking Margaret Thatcher, she recalled how ‘every penny mattered’ in her household as a child – vowing to define her time as Chancellor with the same ethos.

Mrs Reeves, who described herself as a ‘social democrat‘, vowed to preside over a ‘pro-business and pro-worker’ high-growth economy.

Britain’s Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rchel Reeves on the election campaign trail today

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, right and Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, left went to the Rolls Royce plant today

But when pushed on what tax cuts ordinary workers would enjoy under a Labour government, she pointed to the state of the public finances and said the economy needed to stablise prior to slashing any levies.

‘I’ve been really clear, I want taxes to be lower, but I’m not going to make any commitments where I can’t say where the money is going to come from,’ she said.

‘The truth about unfunded commitments is that no one can have any confidence that you can deliver on those – because when Liz Truss made her commitments around cutting taxes, what happened was that taxes didn’t get lower, but what did happen is that mortgage rates and interest rates went through the roof.’

She added: ‘I would like people to be paying less income tax and national insurance. But unlike the Conservatives, we are not going to make any unfunded commitments. 

‘I will never take off from this because the people that pay the prices are ordinary families and pensioners and have been at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis these last few years.’

The Shadow Chancellor also dismissed the Conservative tax cut for pensioners – branded the Triple Lock Plus – as a ‘desperate gimmick’.

‘The only reason that pensioners are looking for the first time at paying income tax on their basic state pension is because the Conservatives lost control of the economy,’ she added.

Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves spoke to members of staff during their visit

Mrs Reeves has made a pointed effort to portray the ‘changed’ Labour Party as fiscally responsible and says the July election is being fought on the economy.

Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer urged voters to put their trust in him in exchange for ‘economic security’, with Shadow Ministers keen to highlight that every pledge made is fully costed – though this is disputed.

Blaming Mr Sunak for Britain’s ‘unique exposure’ to global economic crises, she said yesterday: ‘Stability, investment, reform. You’re going to hear those three words a lot from me.

Because they are the ingredients of a genuine plan for the future – an alternative to managed decline.’

Like Sir Keir on Monday, she also recalled how her childhood inspired her commitment to ‘robust fiscal rules’ and stability.

‘I remember how, when I was growing up, my mum used to sit at the kitchen table, combing over, line by line, her bank statements and her receipts,’ she added.

‘We weren’t badly off, but we didn’t have money to spare.

‘To my mum, every penny mattered.

‘Believe me, I understand – the basic test for whoever is Chancellor is to bring that attitude to the public finances.’

But she struck a notably softer line than Sir Keir, who described himself as a ‘socialist’ and ‘progressive’ on Monday.

Referring to herself as a ‘social democrat’ instead, Ms Reeves added: ‘What I mean by that is that I believe that children from whatever background they come from should get an equal start in life to the opportunities that our country offers.

‘I believe in strong public services to support people all through their lives from the cradle to the grave, and I believe that work should always pay and offer security to people.’