LIVERPOOL (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday that she would never squander what she called the public's "hard-earned trust" in the government's economic stewardship. "All
UK's Reeves Cautions Against Uncontrolled Government Spending
Government Spending and Market Confidence
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday that market confidence would be lost immediately if she allowed spending to get out of control, sending a warning to those colleagues who have called on her to spend more.
Upcoming Budget Challenges
Reeves was speaking at the annual Labour conference at Liverpool, before a budget in late November when she is expected to have to hike taxes again and keep spending tight to keep the government on track for her fiscal rules.
"When spending gets out of control, when market confidence is lost, that doesn't just show up in some OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) reports and some difficult headlines a few months later, it is felt immediately in the growing cost of essentials and rising interest rates," she said.
Commitment to Fiscal Responsibility
Reeves warned that the government would face further tests with the choices to come, which she said would be made all the harder by harsh global headwinds and the investment needs in the country.
"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."
(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill in Liverpool, William James in London, writing by Kate Holton; Editing by Catarina Demony)
