Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to promise a “Budget to Rebuild Britain” when she speaks to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Monday.
The Chancellor is under pressure to offer some optimism after Labour inherited a gloomy message about the economic state of the country from the Conservatives.
But the controversial decision to end winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners threatens to overshadow her speech, with a vote to challenge the move expected in the chamber on the same day.
Reeves has also been embroiled in the charitable donations scandal which prompted the Prime Minister to say senior Labour figures would no longer accept clothing gifts, and is due to announce plans to set up a Covid-19 anti-corruption commissioner.
Ahead of his first budget on October 30, Mr Reeves will promise there will be “no return to austerity” and set out Labour’s vision for a “decade of renewal”.
Next month she is due to approve the appointment of a Covid corruption commissioner to help recoup £674m of disputed contracts that the Conservatives have agreed to abandon.
The Treasury Secretary also vowed to “find out those who have cheated taxpayers’ money, hunt them down, take them to court and recover every single penny wherever we can.”
She will announce new measures to target tax avoiders and close the £39.8bn gap between the tax people owe and the tax they have actually paid.
Plans include recruiting an extra 5,000 tax officers over the next five years, with 200 new compliance officers due to take up their posts at HMRC in November.
Turning to the wider economy, Reeves is expected to say: “My optimism for the UK is brighter than it has ever been.”
“My ambitions for Britain know no bounds because I can see the benefits if we make the right choices now.”
“With economic growth, productivity and household incomes declining in recent years, that promise feels distant, but it doesn’t have to be.”
Writing in The Times, she said she had “never been more optimistic about the destiny of our country” and argued that it was “up to us all” to seize the possibilities that the future holds.
In Liverpool, she will also warn of the need for stability to avoid a Liz Truss-style financial collapse, while arguing that austerity will be avoided.
She would say: “The mini-budget has shown that planning for growth without stability can only lead to disaster.”
“So we will make the choices necessary to stabilize our public finances and put in place the foundations for lasting growth.”
“Stability combined with reform will create the conditions for businesses to invest and consumers to spend with confidence. Growth is the challenge, investment is the solution.”
Reeves will hope that this message will resonate with Labour voters, with opinion polls showing many are unhappy with the decision to end the Winter Fuel Allowance of up to £300 for all pensioners, regardless of wealth, from this year.
The Labour leadership has also been criticised by members of the party for accepting clothing donations despite receiving six-figure salaries.
Rachel Maskell, the York MP who abstained in a vote in favour of Labour’s winter fuel plans earlier this month, posted her frustration on X.
“I’m sick of the revelations about ‘donations,'” she said.
“This goes against the values of the Labour Party, which was created to fight for the needs of others, not our own.”
“Meanwhile, pensioners are at risk of having their winter fuel allowance withheld and shivering in the cold. I believe the conference vote will change this.”
Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner on Sunday defended her decision to accept clothing and a stay at Lord Ali’s New York penthouse during a trip to New York.
Speaking with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, she said: “I don’t believe I broke any rules.”
“I have the right to use the apartment and I have made that clear.”
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds also defended his actions, telling the BBC News Channel “no one has done anything wrong”.
Asked if he planned to apologise, Reynolds replied: “In terms of what you’re describing, I don’t think anybody did anything wrong and I don’t think there’s any indication of any improper influence.”
“It’s a transparent system that we have, and I think that’s a good thing.”
