Robinson tells Reeves that many people know "you're a champion chess player". And so, he asks, why can't she see three moves ahead?

"Why can't you and Keir Starmer see what's coming?" he asks, referencing the "freebies" row.

Reeves says her focus is delivering a Budget (next month) that protects "working families' incomes, fixing problems in our health service," and starts to rebuild the "foundations of the economy".

"The best days of our economy lie ahead," she insists.

Robinson now asks the chancellor a question he says he never expected to, or even wanted to: did she pay for the suit she is wearing?

"I did, the suit is from Hobbs, and I bought it and I will be wearing it for my conference speech this afternoon," Reeves replies.

She again says that previous donations for clothes were from an "old friend", who wanted to help her on the "campaign trail" while in opposition.

As a reminder, reported on Friday said Reeves received £7,500 from a donor, Juliet Rosenfeld, from January 2023 to May 2024, which was used for clothing.

Image source, PA

Nick Robinson continues to press Reeves about whether "austerity" is back - he references the decision to scrap the social care cap, meaning more people will have to pay more for care.

Is that not austerity?

Reeves again says the previous government "covered up" things and were "dishonest" about commitments they made.

She says Labour has done the "responsible thing".

You've said there'll be no return to austerity, Robinson says - so will no government department suffer a real-terms budget cut?

Reeves says details will be set out in the spending review, which is being done in two parts.

Robinson presses her - asking if there could be cuts in departments that are not protected, as the IFS think tank has suggested will be needed.

She says "there won't be a return to austerity", and says "there'll be real terms increases to government spending [overall]".

She adds she has been "clear" the "only way to sustainably fund public services is through growing the economy".

On the Today programme, Nick Robinson asks Rachel Reeves is she has "cheered up" following all the "doom and gloom".

Robinson says businesses in Liverpool - where the conference is taking place - are putting off spending, because of the government's gloomy messaging.

Reeves again references the "black-hole" in public finances that she says she uncovered when becoming chancellor.

She says she is being honest about the "scale of the challenge" and the path moving forward would be "harder and steeper" than anticipated.

She says she thinks the public gets that, and today she wants to set out the "prize" to aim for by bringing stability back to the economy.

As we wait for Reeves to speak to Today, here's a clip of her appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning:

We've brought you the top lines from Rachel Reeves' interview on BBC Breakfast - she's now about to speak to our colleagues on BBC Radio 4 Today.

You can watch and listen live by pressing watch live at the top of the page.

Reeves is pressed on winter fuel now - the government recently announced they are cutting winter fuel payments to 10 million pensioners.

She is asked if the government is "prepared to reconsider" changing the policy in "any way"?

Reeves says when she became chancellor, she "inherited a black hole in the public finances" of £22bn.

Kay says they have added to that with increased pay offers in the public sector.

Reeves says yes, but this has gone to pay rises for people like nurses, teachers and armed forces, because "we accepted the independent recommendations of the pay review bodies".

These bodies were set up by the previous government.

Reeves says it was "the right thing to do" to give the recommended pay rises and it should help to fix recruitment and retention rates.

But she says there has been "a number of difficult decisions" to fix the budget, including the winter fuel cuts. "It wasn't a decision I expected to make," Reeves adds.

Jon Kay tells Reeves people voted for Labour people they wanted "change" - is this what they voted for?

Reeves says there is change - for example, that her government is appointing a Covid corruption commissioner.

She says the "previous government created a VIP lane" to their friends and donors and there "wasn't transparency".

There were £674m "worth of contracts under dispute", she says and the previous government did not "try" and get it back.

Reeves says this is "just one example" on how they are "cracking down on the cronyism and the waste under the previous government".

Reeves is now pressed on additional donations of £98,500, which were classed as "support" for her office while shadow chancellor.

As a reminder, the clothing donations we mentioned earlier were initially declared as "support", rather than specifically for clothes.

Was some of the £98,500 also used for clothes, Jon Kay asks?

Reeves explains that it was used for a "whole range of things", including research.

She adds it's "right" that taxpayers don't fund the bulk of the campaigning and research work that politicians do - so that makes donations necessary.

Reeves is pressed over accepting donations for clothes - and is again asked if she will admit it was "a mistake".

The chancellor says "now that we are in government" and having to make "difficult decisions", it is "right" that it doesn't continue.

However, she says the government does "rely on donations" - but says "the [clothing] support that I got I don't plan to continue".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is speaking to the BBC - and the conversation begins with the "freebies" row.

Asked about accepting clothes donations, she says an "old friend" wanted to support her during the election campaign and adds that it was "never something" she planned to continue as she came into government.

She does accept that it looks "odd".

As a reminder, the Financial Times reported that Reeves received £7,500 from a donor, Juliet Rosenfeld, in four instalments from January 2023 to May 2024, which it said was used to pay for clothing.

Records show that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has received more than £16,000 for clothes and glasses from Lord Waheed Alli, a Labour party donor.

Starmer's wife Victoria has also received free clothing, as well as a personal shopper and alterations, which Starmer initially failed to declare.

It has also emerged that, after Labour came to power, Lord Alli had been given a temporary Downing Street security pass despite having no formal government role.

Then on Friday, the Financial Times reported that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and chancellor Rachel Reeves also received thousands of pounds of donations for clothing. They categorised it as general office support.

On Friday evening, Downing Street source said the trio would no longer accept clothing donations.

• Our longer article can tell you more, including reaction and statements

The chancellor is due to speak to our colleagues on BBC Breakfast from 07:30 BST - you can watch live at the top of the page, and stay here for all the key lines and analysis.

Image source, Reuters

Reeves attempts a change of tonepublished at 07:16 British Summer Time 23 September 2024

07:16 BST 23 September 2024

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Sunshine and hope - those aren’t necessarily words you would associate with Rachel Reeves' tenure as chancellor so far, but that’s what she's trying to bring to the party today.

Writing in The Times this morning, she says she’s never been more optimistic about our country's fortunes; that the future has never had so much potential.

If you think that is a marked change of tone from this new chancellor you would be right.

Speaking to people around her, they concede that while they think the talk of tough choices has been absolutely needed, they now want to talk more about the other part of the picture.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the Labour Party's annual conference.

Today, the party's focus shifts to the economy and we're expecting to see Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the main stage at 12:00 BST - we'll bring you all the key lines from that speech here.

The chancellor is expected to return to the premise of "tough decisions" but also seek to reassure the country that there will be "no return to austerity".

Also on the agenda today are environment secretary Steve Reed, energy secretary Ed Miliband and Scottish labour leader Anas Sarwar.

But before that all gets under way, Reeves is due on the morning media round - so stay with us for all the latest political developments throughout the day.

Image source, Getty Images

We'll soon be closing our live page following day one of the Labour party's annual conference in Liverpool, which saw Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner tell members that "change has begun".

But before her speech, Rayner faced questions from Laura Kuenssberg about a report in The Sunday Times.

The newspaper reported , externalthat Rayner may have broke parliamentary rules by failing to declare Sam Tarry, then the Ilford South MP, stayed with her at an apartment in New York, during a “personal holiday” that was funded by Labour donor Lord Alli.

In response, Rayner said she doesn't believe she broke parliamentary rules and added that she "didn't go to New York with another person" but "that person went to New York and I met up with them".

• You can read more about her comments on that here.

Later on, Angela Rayner made a speech at the conference in Liverpool, alongside others, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Rayner told the crowd the Conservatives "failed Britain" and left Labour facing "tough choices". She also highlighted strengthening workers' rights and improving housing as two key priorities.

Meanwhile, Lammy declared "Britain is back", saying his goal is to improve the country's international standing. He described the escalation between Israel and Lebanon as "worrying" and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

I spoke to several women who related to deputy leader Angela Rayner, including Tonika Stephenson, from Knowsley.

She's a first-time delegate who was inspired to join Labour after the Windrush scandal because she wanted to do more for her community.

Stephenson says Rayner was "my highlight" because her speech included a lot of personal stories and showed people "you don't have to have the best background to be successful".

"She's somebody I look up to and I'm hard to impress," she adds.

Meanwhile, Natasha Stonehouse, from Brecon, also tells me that Rayner had been her favourite speech so far.

"I just think she's very encouraging and positive," the 30-year-old says.

"She's got the right ideas and I really like her view that power needs to be taken away from Whitehall," she adds.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

I spoke to 24-year-old Thomas Haynes, a member from Gloucestershire, about his conference so far. He says: "I thought Angela Rayner's speech was brilliant and hit the mark completely.

"The atmosphere here is really, really good because we've finally got a chance to do something," he adds.

Haynes says as a kidney patient, his focus is on NHS reform.

He adds: "At one point I was staying with my mum in Leeds and had a dialysis issue, but couldn't go to the nearest hospital because the equipment was owned by a different company and didn't match mine."

I also spoke to 70-year-old Neil Mallett from Luton, who says he's been a member for more than 50 years, but doesn't like the direction the party has taken since they ditched Jeremy Corbyn as leader.

Mallett tells me: "I hate the conference. People look at you blankly when you mention socialism.

"I'm here to see if it's as bad as I thought it was, because it's pointless just sitting at home whinging," he adds.