Rachel Reeves

“The Budget is an opportunity to bring honesty to the public finances.”

“Growing up, we weren't poor, but we didn't have money to spare.”

“My mum and dad were primary schoolteachers.”

“It's up to the people of the United States to choose who they want as their president. But the U.K. government - whether that's Labour or a Conservative government in the U.K. - has always worked with whoever's in the White House and whoever is in Congress, and that'll continue to happen.”

“With Keir Starmer's leadership, we have shown the strength and determination to change the Labour party. In power, we will show the strength and determination to change our country for the better.”

“If you can work, you should work and with Labour our welfare system will make sure that happens.”

“It was a Conservative chancellor that established the Office for Budget Responsibility and I will strengthen it.”

“At a time of immense pressure on public finances, every tax break has to be carefully considered and fully justified.”

“To have a system that's fair and affordable we need to help more people into work, make sure we have decent and secure jobs, and ensure that the work that people have done throughout their lives is properly recognised when they lose their jobs and in old age.”

“We can't avoid tough decisions on tax, spending and pay. But that makes it even more important that we take care to ensure women do not bear the heaviest burden.”

“Stability is the essential ingredient to a successful economy.”

“When I worked at the Bank of England, I learnt a very simple lesson: your sums must always add up.”

“As a society, we need to prioritise reducing loneliness.”

“Equal pay, affordable childcare, and a decent retirement should be every woman's right.”

“We need to bring down the deficit and address the low-paid economy, but we should do this by tackling the root causes of low pay and rising social security spending, not by attacking those who are already struggling to cover the costs of living.”

“Leadership is not just about having the conviction to take the right decision. It is about having the strength to follow it through.”

“Too often, women find that the men in their cohort scoop up the big jobs and they end up working for them.”

“We will not waver in our commitment to making sure that our economy is on stable and secure ground, and that every pound of taxpayers' money is treated with respect.”

“I felt strongly that the government didn't care about schools and communities like mine and I wanted to do something about it.”

“Our local public services, from Bath to Bolton, Darlington to Dagenham, should be run for local communities - the people who use them.”