Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to George Osborne’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference, said:

“After three wasted years, George Osborne still has nothing concrete to say on helping families with the rising cost of living.

“The few things he has said are already unravelling. His panicky announcement on fuel duty turns out to be just an aspiration if he can find savings elsewhere. This is on top of £1.6 billion of unfunded commitments already made by Ministers during the party conference season. The IFS has said the marriage tax break will help just 28 per cent of married couples and only 15 per cent of families with children. And his work scheme turns out to be less ambitious than Labour’s compulsory jobs guarantee.

“As for George Osborne’s pledges on capital spending and the deficit, nobody will believe a word he says. His failure on growth means that far from balancing the books by 2015 as he promised, borrowing is now set to be £96 billion. And for all the warm words about capital spending he is cutting it in 2015.

“By opposing the measures Labour announced last week to freeze energy prices and expand free childcare for working parents, the Tories have shown once again that they only ever stand up for a privileged few not for hard working families.”