Rachel Reeves says Labour would not return country to austerity

Rachel Reeves promised that a Labour government would not go back to cutting public spending. She made it clear that they would not raise income tax or national insurance. During the initial days of the general election race, the shadow chancellor and Keir Starmer expressed a desire to see lower taxes for working people.

When asked about how Labour plans to finance public services, Reeves declined the option of increasing income tax or national insurance. She emphasized that the party's election manifesto would not have any propositions without financial backing.

During an interview with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC's Sunday show, Reeves expressed her desire to avoid reducing public spending. To accomplish this, her party has revealed their plans to promptly provide additional funding for public services.

Our commitments to provide additional funds for the National Health Service, 13,000 more police and community officers, and 6,500 more teachers in our schools have been thoroughly calculated and paid for. It's important to ensure that our promises are fully funded and accounted for, as it's difficult to have faith in promises that have not been fully accounted for.

When asked multiple times about her tax proposals, Reeves stated: "Keir and I aim to bring down taxes for those who work hard. If we come out on top in the election, you won't have to worry about an increase in income tax or national insurance."

She stated that if a Labour government is elected, there won't be a return to austerity. She explained that the previous five years of austerity had contributed to the current state of the economy and public services being in a poor state.

Ultimately, we need to expand the economy and improve its weak performance.

The woman announced that the celebration shall gather funds for its promises by implementing a Value Added Tax on tuition fees for exclusive institutions, raising the tax on bonuses for private equity, prolonging the excess of tax on the earnings of energy corporations, and taking strict action against tax evasion and those who are not domiciled in their country for tax purposes.

The Labour Party's proposed workers' rights package has faced criticism from the Union Unite for not including a complete ban on fire-and-rehire practices. Despite this, the shadow chancellor spoke out in defense of Labour's plans, claiming that it is still necessary to put an end to this unfair practice. However, Unite's secretary general, Sharon Graham, has stated that the proposed plans are inadequate and that they contain many loopholes and deficiencies.

According to Reeves, it’s regrettable that Sharon perceives things that way. However, Reeves firmly asserts that Labour hasn’t lost the backing of trade unions for the “most comprehensive expansion of labor rights ever enacted”.

The shadow chancellor stated that they would put an end to fire-and-rehire practices, which involve companies terminating the employment of all their workers and then attempting to rehire them on inferior contracts. This behavior is highly objectionable, and the shadow chancellor asserted that they would not permit it.

Reeves emphasized that fire-and-rehire would only be permitted in highly particular situations of reorganization. "If a business is approaching insolvency and there is no other option, they will need to discuss with their employees and their labor unions. These are exceedingly rare circumstances," she stated.

During the interview, Reeves chose not to disclose if Labour intends to abolish the restriction on benefits for families with more than two children, and declined to provide a specific schedule for the party's promise to raise military expenditures to 2.5% of GDP.