Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves promised to deliver a UK budget showing “real ambition” next month as she used her speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference to project a positive vision for the country.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday there would be no return to austerity or widespread cuts, promising long-term growth despite previous warnings of a tough budget to fix the foundations of the economy.

The Labour government’s first budget will be a plan with “real ambition”, Rachel Reeves has insisted as the party seeks to counter criticisms of being too gloomy about the state of Britain’s economy.