Rachel Reeves will promise “no return” to austerity later today, as the party continues to come under fire for the scrapping of the winter fuel payments.

Speaking at the party’s conference in Liverpool, Ms Reeves will lay out the first steps she will take to “make every part of our country better off”, as millions of pensioners prepare for a winter without vital contributions towards their energy costs.

The conference will cap off a difficult month for the new government who have come under intense scrutiny following the revelation that Keir Starmer accepted over £100,0000 in football hospitality gifts whilst Angela Rayner was gifted the use of a luxury New York apartment by a wealthy donor, as she holidayed over the New Year.

There have also been reports of high level leaks as it was revealed last week that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Sue Gray earns more than him.

The Chancellor will use the speech to set out her path for economic growth, drawing on work undertaken since assuming office and setting the vision for the year ahead.

Ms Reeves will claim: “Our economy has been held back by decisions deferred and decisions ducked.

“Political self-interest put ahead of the national interest. We face the legacy of fourteen years of chaos and economic irresponsibility.”

The party elephant in the room will be the controversial plan to scrap winter fuel payments for pensioners this winter, with more than 50 Labour MPs abstaining from a vote a fortnight ago and trade union backers placing billboards around the city with the slogan “Defend the winter fuel payment”.

Labour have defended the removal, which one pensioner described as “evil”, claiming that their commitment to keeping the triple lock in place will offset the loss of income, making pensioners £460 per year better off.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that these claims are “not that straightforward.”

Ms Reeves is expected to use the speech to recommit to the General Election promise to not raise income tax, national insurance and VAT whilst outlining that corporation tax will remain at its current level for the “duration of parliament.”

The Chancellor will promise to make “tough decisions” a nod to the hugely unpopular scrapping of the winter fuel payment which Ms Reeves has consistently defended as being necessary to address a “£22 billion black hole” in the country’s finances handed over by the Conservatives.

Since assuming office, Ms Reeves has claimed that the economic state of the nation was worse than anticipated, a claim denied by former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Hunt dismissed the notion that Labour had uncovered things they were unaware of during the election and has criticised the bleak messaging from the Chancellor and Prime Minister which he said had “already damaged the UK's international reputation by talking down her inheritance in order to score political points".