Chancellor’s conference speech was light on detail and not pivot away from doom and gloom that critics wanted

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Rachel Reeves had a difficult balancing act. Between offering up a message of optimism for Britain as a chancellor elected on a platform of change in July’s election landslide, and holding back the big news for next month’s budget.

Facing criticism that she may have overcooked a doom and gloom-laden approach emanating from the economy, paving the way for a “painful” tax and spending event on 30 October, Reeves’s speech in Liverpool on Monday was an opportunity for a reset.