Rachel Reeves says Labour will ‘rebuild’ Britain from ‘wreckage of Tory misrule’ in Liverpool speech

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour is ‘ready to rebuild Britain’ from the ‘wreckage of Tory misrule’ in her keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Monday.

She confirmed plans for reforms to the ‘antiquated’ planning system to make it quicker and easier to build the infrastructure needed for modern industries and clean energy networks.

Ms Reeves also said her first budget would crack down on the tax perks enjoyed by private schools and told prime minister Rishi Sunak to ‘bring it on’ if he wanted a fight on the issue.

Her pitch to the nation comes at a time when children in hundreds of state schools are being taught in temporary classrooms due to crumbling cheap concrete, known as RAAC.

Ms Reeves told the Labour Party Conference: "The choice at the next election is this: five more years of the Tory chaos and uncertainty which has left working people worse off or a changed Labour Party offering stability, investment and economic security so that working people are better off. It falls to us to show that Labour are ready to serve, ready to lead and ready to rebuild Britain."

Reeves went on to accuse the Conservatives of being bereft of new ideas and said only Labour could offer the stability required with the country still reeling from the cost of living crisis.

"We will lift our living standards, make work pay, rebuild our public services, invest in homegrown industries in every corner of our country, and together we will get Britain its future back," she said to a standing ovation.

Former Bank of England economist Ms Reeves also received some heavyweight backing as she laid out her plans to take on the Tories on the economy in the next election.

Ex-Bank of England governor Mark Carney said she was a ‘serious economist’ who understood the big picture. In a video message endorsement he said: "It is beyond time we put her energy and ideas into action.”