Rachel Reeves will pledge on Tuesday to lead the most âpro-growthâ Treasury in UK history if Labour wins the general election.
Addressing business leaders, the shadow chancellor is poised to claim her party would âreturn to the centre ground of politicsâ by striking a balance between workersâ needs and business interests.
She is also expected to say she is committed to delivering economic stability so that âfamilies and businesses can plan for the futureâ without the risk of âa repeat of the mini-budgetâ.
Labour will instead âoffer a government that is pro-worker and pro-business, in the knowledge that each depends upon the success of the otherâ.
In a swipe at Rishi Sunak, Reeves will say the timing of the snap election was a damning indictment of his economic plans: âIf he really believed his plan was working, he wouldnât have called an election now.â
She is expected to tell business chiefs: âThe general election in five weeksâ time is a chance for the British people to pass judgment on 14 years of economic chaos and decline under the Conservatives.
âFourteen years of chaos that have seen taxes reach a 70-year high. National debt more than double. And the average mortgage holder having to pay £240 more a month after Liz Trussâs disastrous mini-budget.â
Her words will strike the same tone as the Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, who said that claims from Sunak that the UK has turned the corner were âa form of disrespect in itselfâ.
On Monday evening it was also reported that 121 business leaders have leant their support to Labour in a joint letter signed by former executives from JP Morgan, Heathrow, Aston Martin and JD Sports â as well as the Wikipedia founder, Sir Jimmy Wales, and Tom Kerridge, the chef and restauranteur .
âWe, as leaders and investors in British business, believe it is time for a change,â said the letter to the Times, which was also signed by the founder of the childcare company that Akshata Murty, the prime ministerâs wife, previously held shares and the Iceland founder Sir Malcolm Walker, who in 2015 publicly backed the Conservatives. âFor too long, our economy has been beset by instability, stagnation and a lack of long-term focus.â
Reevesâs speech comes as the shadow chancellor seeks to strike a political balance between the views of businesses and trade unions. Her refusal to rule out all fire-and-rehire employment practices has drawn criticism from union leaders in recent days.
The Unite unionâs secretary general, Sharon Graham, said Labourâs plans â which exclude an outright ban on the practice â had âmore holes than Swiss cheeseâ. Reeves has since said that the plans still amount to the âbiggest ever extension of workplace rights thatâs ever been introducedâ and that fire-and-rehire would only be tolerated in extreme circumstances such as a company going bankrupt.
She also faces further challenges in the coming weeks to illustrate how she can promise to keep a tight hand on the public finances while also rejuvenating ailing public services with fresh investment.
Reeves has promised that Labour will not oversee a âreturn to austerityâ as she ruled out increases to income tax or national insurance.
Speaking on BBC Oneâs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she said: âThereâs not going to be a return to austerity under a Labour government. We had austerity for five years and that is part of the reason why our economy and our public services are in a mess today.â
Reeves added that the party would raise money to fund its pledges by introducing VAT on private school fees, increasing tax on private equity bonuses, extending the windfall tax on energy companiesâ profits, and cracking down on non-doms and tax avoidance.