The finance minister of Britain urges restraint in spending, yet rejects a return to austerity measures.

• The Labour government has been criticized for creating a sense of despair about the financial situation.
• The Prime Minister has cautioned about difficult choices following the party's triumph in the July general election.

The U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves pledged on Monday that Britain will not return to austerity, but stated that she would make tough decisions while presenting the budget proposals next month in Liverpool, ENGLAND.

"The budget will have genuine aspirations... to bring about the change we pledged. It will revitalize Britain," she declared to a gathering of Labour party members on Monday. "No more austerity measures."

The Labour party conference, which began on Monday and marked its first time in power in 15 years, was briefly disrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester who heckled during a keynote speech.

The Labour government has been criticized for creating a sense of despair about the financial situation, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer stating that difficult choices must be made following the party's win in the July election.

The U.K. national debt has reached 100% of GDP for the first time since 1961, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. In the financial year to August, the deficit was £64.1 billion ($85.4 billion), which is £6.2 billion more than the ONS forecast in March.

Reeves has proposed that taxes may increase in her upcoming Autumn budget due to a £22 billion ($29 billion) deficit in the public finances, which her predecessor, Conservative Party member Jeremy Hunt, has dismissed as unfounded.

"Although you are eager for change, the path forward is more challenging due to the legacy left by the Conservatives," she said to the audience on Monday.

Reeves expressed his optimism for Britain, stating that his ambition for the country remains unbounded.

Reeves defended the decision to cut winter fuel allowances for millions of pensioners as the "appropriate action given the circumstances we inherited."

She confirmed that the government would not increase income tax, National Insurance social security payments, value-added tax (a sales tax), and corporation tax.

She pledged to increase revenue by eliminating the U.K.'s non-dom tax exemption and tightening tax evasion and avoidance measures.

She stated that this government will not allow tax evasion.

The finance minister reiterated the government's stance as "proudly pro-business" and announced plans for a business summit and new national industrial strategy next month. This strategy will include measures to help Britain achieve its net zero and clean energy goals by 2030.

She stated that the government will continue to pursue trade deals to expand market opportunities, as ongoing negotiations with significant partners such as India are ongoing.

"Britain is now ready for business after years of instability and uncertainty," she stated.

If the government does not act promptly on its spending, it will harm the U.K.'s financial stability, potentially affecting public services, mortgages, and inflation, as Reeves cautioned, recalling the unsuccessful mini-Budget of former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss.

""Any plan for growth without stability will result in ruin, as the Liz Truss experiment demonstrated, marking the end of the trickle down, trickle out economics era," she declared."

Despite the historic victory of the Labour Party over the Tories three months ago, public enthusiasm for the government has begun to decline.

According to Ipsos opinion polling, half of Britons, including 26% of Labour voters, are dissatisfied with the government's accomplishments thus far. Gideon Skinner, Ipsos' senior director of U.K. politics, stated that the findings suggest the end of the government's "honeymoon period."

Earlier Monday at the Labour party conference, Skinner stated that a seeping back of pessimism and concern had emerged after a few months of hope following the election.

AJ Bell's director of public policy, Tom Selby, stated that Reeves' speech was unlikely to ease worries about the financial difficulties that lie ahead.

The chancellor's tone was more positive at the conference today, but she made it clear that there will be painful decisions in the Budget on 30 October, even though the country is still unsure where the cuts will be made.

He stated that, like nature, politics cannot tolerate a void, and the absence of clarity has resulted in speculation about potential revenue-raising reforms to pension tax relief and tax-free cash, as well as Capital Gains Tax (CGT).