Britain Treasury chief seeks to boost economic optimism after failed talks

British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves will pledge Monday not to return to an era of public spending cuts despite the dire state of the UK's national finances.

Reeves plans to stress optimism in a speech to the Labour Party's annual conference, aiming to reassure party members, jittery despite a recent landslide election victory, that her first budget next month won't be all doom and gloom.

The party said Reeves, the UK's first female finance minister, will stress that my optimism for Britain burns as bright as it ever has done.

The centre-left party is gathering in the northwest England port city of Liverpool three months after winning power in Britain's July 4 election. While Labour's return to office after 14 years in opposition has many delegates buzzing, some are anxious about the government's faltering start and downbeat economic messaging.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer won the election on a promise to banish years of turmoil and scandal under the Conservatives, get Britain's ...