Frame Kennedy

Chancellor’s speech takes optimistic tone on economy

Talk to an expert

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, gave an important speech at the Labour Party conference last week, in which she appeared to shift tone to speak more positively about the economy.


Recently she spoke about the upcoming Budget being a “painful” one. As a result, there has been speculation on where spending will be cut and tax raised, which may have affected consumer confidence.


However, the Chancellor’s speech at the party conference concentrated on the positive results she expects to bring to the economy. She plans to grow public spending in real terms as she believes that investment by the government will help the economy to grow. There may be changes upcoming to the rules on government borrowing so that more investment is allowed.


Whether this means that the Budget will not be as painful as we might have been expecting is hard to know. As always, we will keep you posted on the Budget developments.


See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y50z5l1r2o

October 29, 2026
Your business might benefit from these state funding options

The government-established Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC) has been publicising its Small Business Plan that offers tailored funding to smaller businesses.

Read article
October 28, 2026
Poor IR35 assessments cost Cabinet Office £38.5m

HMRC have concluded that the Cabinet Office failed to take reasonable care when applying the Off-Payroll Working (IR35) rules. The Cabinet Office has set aside £38.5 million for unpaid Income Tax, National Insurance and interest. A penalty of up to £8.9m could follow.

Read article