The Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that should Labour be elected at the General Election there will be “difficult decisions.”
Reeves accused the Conservative Party of leaving the UK’s finances in an “absolute mess” which will “take time to turn around the damage.”
After 14-years of rule the Tories have caused so much damage, Reeves insisted, “I don’t want to be one of those politicians that makes promises on a wing and a prayer.
“So I won’t make any promises I can’t keep, because I don’t want to let people down.”
This comes as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) gave a warning that which ever political party wins the election on 4 July they will have a “stark choice” over increasing taxes and going against their manifesto pledges or increase borrowing.
IFS director Paul Johnson accused both Labour and the Conservatives of a “conspiracy of silence” over their plans on taxes and spending, warning that on polling day people will vote with a “knowledge vacuum.”
Reeves said that Labour will grow the economy but insisted “there will be no return to austerity under a Labour government.”
She said, “Our plans are premised on growing the economy, because it has been growth that has been missing these last 14 years.
“If we had just grown at the average rate of similar OECD economies in the last 14 years, our economy would have been £150 billion bigger.”
She said that this could provide £55 billion a year on public spending, “that is how important growth is.”
Speaking in Scotland on her campaign trail Reeves said that Labour’s manifesto proposals are “all about growing the economy.”
“It is only through growth in the end that you are going to have the money for public services while also improving living standards,” she added.
