Overview

• The chancellor reiterated that Labour’s manifesto commitments on taxes for working people "stand" while declining to give a categorical guarantee on VAT.
• She said she would consider a combination of tax and spending changes and noted she has not yet received the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast.
• Reeves backed moving the OBR to producing one main forecast each year, citing recommendations from the International Monetary Fund.
• She promoted a Youth Guarantee offering paid work to 18–24-year-olds on Universal Credit for 18 months, with potential benefit sanctions for refusal and full costings to be set out at the November Budget.
• Reeves rejected calls for higher borrowing, warning that loosening fiscal rules risks repeating past market turmoil.