Who was the real audience for Rachel Reeves’s speech?

Rachel Reeves had to deal with unexpected turbulence in her party conference speech, after anti-Israel protesters interrupted her. But that was the easy bit, since she just opted to go for the Labour line for stage disruption: ‘We are a changed Labour party that represent working people – not the party of protest’. That response received applause in the hall, where delegates regularly cheered on the first female chancellor. The harder task for Reeves today was finding a way to hold the line on difficult spending decisions, while also striking a more upbeat tone than the miserable-ism that has dominated the past few weeks.

Reeves made it clear she would not be reversing her decision to cut the winter fuel allowance, despite criticism from the unions. She said: ‘I know not everyone – in this hall, or this country – will agree with every decision I make. But I will not duck those decisions.’