Dropping of £28bn pledge marks a shift in Reeves’s entire economic philosophy

Rachel Reeves had promised to spend big to be Britain's first green chancellor. Now she wants to spend as little public money as possible

• Labour cuts 28bn green investment pledge by half

When Rachel Reeves announced Labour's 28bn climate plan in 2021, she was so confident it was the right thing to do that she issued a dire warning about what would happen if the scheme was held up or scaled back.

The greatest cost to our public finances, as well as to our planet, will be if we delay and let the costs mount up for future generations to pay," she told a packed hall at the party conference in Brighton.