Faisal Islam
Economics editor

The key line in the chancellor’s speech in relation to the Budget was her linking of tough decisions "in coming months" to global headwinds and a productivity reassessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

"We will face further tests, with choices to come made all the harder by harsh global headwinds and long-term damage to the economy, which is becoming ever clearer," she said.

This prepares the government’s argument for if there does need to be further tax rises - even significant ones - at the Budget.

Firstly, they will blame the broad global economic backdrop, of trade wars, actual wars and rising government interest rates.

Second, the OBR’s reassessment of the UK’s long term economic trends is revealing "ever clearer" evidence of "long term damage" - which Reeves will blame on the record of her predecessors.

The other notable call was for "responsible management of public finances" against opposition voices and those in her own party.

Other than that, this speech was relatively light on policies. The policies that most of the country are the most interested in - what is in the Budget - have not been nailed down, and depend on the ping-pong about to start with the OBR over its forecasting process. It is on that, where we did get some new news today.

The chancellor confirmed publicly that she agreed with the IMF about moving the fiscal dance that has created non-stop speculation about tax changes, to a once a year, rather than twice a year.

This is a tacit admission that after whatever emerges from the Budget, everyone would benefit from a period of stability.

Image source, Getty Images

During her speech, Reeves insisted that she would keep control of the public finances and would "not take risks with the trust placed in us by the British people".

With the autumn Budget due to be unveiled on 26 November, it's worth remembering that whatever she announces will be affected by her fiscal rules - the self-imposed restrictions she's placed on her policies on tax and spending.

Described in the Labour manifesto as "non-negotiable", the two broad rules the chancellor is aiming to follow are:

• Not to borrow to fund day-to-day public spending by the end of this Parliament
• To get government debt falling as a share of national income by the end of this Parliament

However, in its last report in March,, external the OBR said the chancellor only had £10bn of "headroom" to meet these rules, which it called a "very small margin".

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent at Labour conference

There's one line the chancellor has repeated several times during this conference speech - don't let anybody tell you that there’s no difference between a Labour government and the Conservatives.

It might seem fairly obvious - she's trying to draw a comparison with the Tories. But it is interesting given how much of this conference has so far been focused on Labour taking the fight to Nigel Farage rather than Kemi Badenoch.

I reckon Rachel Reeves might be deploying this line for another reason too…. one of the key claims from Reform UK is that there’s no difference between Labour and the Tories. It seems to me this is the chancellor’s answer to that.

Reeling through some of Labour's achievements over the last year, Reeves says Britain has been the fastest growing economy in the G7 and has seen wages "rise more in the first 10 months of Labour than in the first 10 years" of the previous Conservative government.

The chancellor says the government has recruited 2,000 new GPs, delivered 5,000 extra appointments and cut NHS waiting lists by more than 200,000.

But there is more to do, she says, and "we are just getting started".

She repeats a statement peppered throughout her speech today: "Never let anyone tell you that there's no difference between a Labour government and a Conservative government."

"A better Britain is within reach," she says, ending her remarks to a standing ovation.

Stay with us as we recap the main points from the chancellor's speech.

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent at Labour conference

The chancellor has used the word investment over and over again during this conference speech.

This is the central argument ministers are trying to land during this conference - a direct and (they hope) favourable comparison with their political rivals, namely the Conservatives and Reform UK.

The PM framed it as a choice between "patriotic renewal" or decline - the chancellor keeps referring to "investment or decline".

But the inescapable backdrop to this speech is the budget looming on the horizon in a couple of months' time, with what could be really tough choices around tax and spending.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Reeves now turns to youth unemployment and says too many young people are "frozen out" of work.

She confirms the government will fund a new "youth guarantee" which will see every young person guaranteed either a place in college, an apprenticeship, or one-to-one support to find a job. They will be offered a paid work placement if they are out of work for 18 months, she adds.

"We won’t leave a generation of young people to languish without prospects," Reeves says, and commits the party to "nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment".

The chancellor also says the government is working with the EU to secure an "ambitious agreement" on youth mobility.

"I don't want young people to miss out on the chance to enrich their lives" through travelling and working abroad, she adds, saying it cannot be the preserve of the wealthy.

You can read more about the scheme in our main article.

The chancellor turns her attention to Reform UK, saying the "single greatest threat" to British standards and values is the agenda of Nigel Farage and his party.

Reeves says "they're not on the side of the working people".

She asks delegates, who is standing up for British interests: Labour, or a party that is "in bed with Vladimir Putin?"

"Who is standing up for Britain's national health service?" she asks. A government investing "record amounts in our NHS" or Reform, with its opposition to the very principle of the system, she asks.

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent at Labour conference

I'm in the conference hall for Rachel Reeves' speech and the delegates here seem determined to buoy the chancellor, with a standing ovation when she took to the stage and another when Reeves addressed a protestor holding a Palestinian flag.

There was one thing that was really noticeable in the opening few sentences of the chancellor's speech. She talked a lot about industry and working class communities, with references to Scottish shipbuilding and steel workers and how the government is supporting them.

It seems to me to be an attempt by the chancellor to show the government is focused on what many see as core "Labour values" - perhaps in the face of critics within the party who feel the leadership has strayed too far from them.

The chancellor goes back to the government's economic choices.

She says that every advance in bringing down the cost of living is a Labour achievement, mentioning interest rates cuts and lower mortgage costs.

Referring to Liz Truss's mini-budget - which included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts, spooking financial markets and leading to mortgage rates soaring - Reeves says, "we will never do what the Conservatives did to ordinary working people".

The chancellor says that when spending gets out of control, and market confidence is lost, it is felt "immediately" in rising prices for essentials and rising interest rates.

There is "nothing progressive, nothing Labour, about government using one in every £10 of public money it spends on financing debt interest", she says.

"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.

"Our first year in power was about fixing the foundations. Our second must be about building a renewed economy for a renewed Britain."

She adds: "There will be choices to take our country forward, and whatever tests come our way, whatever tests come my way, I make this commitment to you: I will take no risks with the trust placed in us by the British people."

• For context: The Conservatives have disowned the Truss mini-budget, with shadow chancellor Mel Stride saying in a speech in June that the party would never again make "promises we cannot afford".

Turning now to the housing crisis, Reeves dubs it "one of the greatest challenges that we face".

Labour will build 1.5m new homes in this Parliament, she says, because every family deserves the "safety and security" of a home.

Social housing must play a "major role" in any solutions, she says, adding that £40m was allocated in the Spending Review a few months ago for this.

"Don't let anyone tell you there's no difference between Labour and the Conservatives," a message she repeats throughout this speech.

Image source, Reuters

The chancellor goes on to outline a series of investments made by the government, including in rail infrastructure in St Helens, "major investment" in Mersey Rail and new tram stops in Greater Manchester.

She also cites investment in a mass transit system linking Bradford and Leeds, as well as rail projects in Wales.

Reeves adds that the government will "push ahead" with its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail - the stalled high-speed rail link between Liverpool and Manchester - which she calls a "vote of confidence" in the north of England.

The rail link is supposed to boost economic growth in northern England with improved rail services between Liverpool and Leeds.

Reeves now moves on to say the Conservative government made the UK poorer - "they made working people poorer and they left our public finances in disarray".

She says their "14-year failure on economic growth" is the biggest challenge on Britain's cost of living and public services.

According to the chancellor, the Labour government is priming the country for economic success. "I know that things are still difficult, bills are too high, getting ahead can feel tough and there are still too many obstacles in the way for businesses," she adds.

One way forward is investment, Reeves says, adding that trade agreements, launching the UK's first national wealth fund, and reforming the pension system are ways the government hopes to put the UK in a better position.

"A strategic state must use its power to support jobs and growth, and that includes through public investment," she adds.

Reeves says the UK's reputation was left "in tatters" under the previous Conservative government, saying the Labour government is "still paying the bills for their waste and cronyism".

The chancellor adds that almost £400m lost during the Covid pandemic has been recovered, and more powers are being brought in to recover money from "fraudsters" who took cash from the government.

Reeves also announces the creation of a new "hit squad" tasked with recovering money owed to the British people, saying "we want our money back" to invest in British schools and the NHS.

Reeves now looks back to her own school years, recalling when her school library was turned into a classroom to accommodate the number of students.

"Think about the message that sends about a government's priorities," the chancellor asks of the audience.

She says there are currently 1,700 primary schools in England that do not have a library.

She reiterates Labour's commitment to providing a library in every primary school in England by end of parliament.

Image source, Reuters

The chancellor says that for the 451 days Labour has been in government, the party has achieved more than it did in the 5,000 plus days of opposition.

She goes on to list the government's achievements, including the Living Wage, rail projects, investing in British energy, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty and giving pay rises to public sector workers.

Reeves says the £29bn put towards the NHS every year is a "record cash investment".

As she speaks of a "renewed" national health service, there's a pause for a standing ovation.

• For context: Reeves announced in June an extra £29bn per year for the NHS in England, along with funding boosts for defence and housing during the Spending Review. But some departments saw a squeeze in day-to-day spending

Reeves goes on to say "we want security and good unionised jobs", adding that Labour has given its all "to regain the trust of the British people".

What "drives" the chancellor, she says, is the memories of how hard her parents worked - as primary school teachers - to give pupils the best start in life.

But working class children are falling behind in a system "that hoards privilege at the top" she continues, and Reeves says she joined Labour to change that.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' speech is interrupted by a person in the crowd who shouts that there has been "two years of genocide" and "mass starvation of Palestinians".

In response, Reeves addresses the protester and says she understands the person's cause, and says the government is recognising a Palestinian state.

"We're now a party in government, not a party of protest," she says.

• For context: The UK was part of a wave of countries that recognised a Palestinian state a week ago. Earlier in September, a UN-commissioned report accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the accusation.

Welcomed by large applause and a standing ovation, Chancellor Rachel Reeves begins by talking about the government's backing of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk back in June, which she says will employ 10,000 people and produce power for six million homes.

Reeves says the country was faced with a stark choice over a year ago - "investment or decline".

She repeats her promise as chancellor to run the economy differently to the Tories.

"A strong economy must rest on strong foundations," Reeves says.

She cites Labour's decision to step in when ship builder Harland & Wolff were "in danger" when falling into administration, showing the government's "commitment" to help the British ship industry.

Last month, she says, a record £10bn deal with Norway for Scottish-built frigates was reached. She also says the government is taking action to protect automotive industry - with a £1.5bn loan guarantee for Jaguar Land Rover following their cyber attack.

On to the foreign owners of British Steel, Reeves claims the government took control of it in the national interest by backing British steelworkers.

Image source, Reuters

We're now hearing from Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the annual Labour Party conference - watch live at the top of this page.

As always, we'll be bringing you the key lines from her speech, and our correspondents are poised to break down her address as they hear it.

Does the UK have the fastest growth in the G7?published at 11:39 BST 29 September

11:39 BST 29 September

By Anthony Reuben

Defending her economic record, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Our economy was the fastest growing in the G7 in the first half this year.”

The G7 is the group of big, industrialised economies that also includes the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

She is correct, with the economy measured by gross domestic product (GDP) having grown 0.7% in the first three months of the year and 0.3% in the second three months.

If you look at different time periods, however, you get a different picture. The UK was not the fastest growing in the G7 in the 12 months to the end of June, for example.

The figures for April to June may be revised by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - the organisation which produces the UK’s officials statistics.

You can read more about it here.