Britain's Treasury chief tries to turn on the economic optimism after months of gloomy talk

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves promised on Monday not to return to an era of public spending cuts despite the dire state of the U.K.’s national finances, as she tried to inject a dose of optimism after weeks of negative headlines for the country’s new Labour Party government. Reeves used a speech to Labour’s annual conference to try and reassure party members, jittery despite a recent landslide election victory, that her first budget next month won’t be all doom and gloom. Reeves promised “there will be no return to austerity” and said the government will invest in industry, infrastructure and green energy to reverse declines in “growth, productivity and family incomes.” “My optimism for Britain burns brighter than ever,” said Reeves, the first woman to hold the 800-year-old post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Last year’s Labour conference fizzed with optimism, as a party that had lost four straight elections sensed power was within its grasp.