The Mais Lecture has a long history of chancellors setting out their economic philosophy, and Reeves is making her position pretty clear: the Treasury having full control of tax revenue is not beneficial for the country.
Today, Reeves confirmed that regional mayors, figures like Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, will be handed control of a share of national tax revenue. Treasury officials are already working on the road map we were told about today.
It’s significant because it will give more power and influence to the regions, and, as I was once told, the Treasury, in particular, has historically regarded fiscal devolution with something close to institutional suspicion.
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
Reeves is clearly ready and willing to push through that resistance, and we are expecting details in the Autumn budget.
One of her other big statements was that Brexit had caused “deep damage”.
Her case was methodical – GDP impact of up to 8%, higher costs for businesses and a shrinking market for UK exporters.
These are not new numbers, but having the chancellor read them from a lectern in the City of London, in a room full of senior figures from within the finance capital of the country, is a different thing entirely.
The danger for Labour is obvious. It is one thing to quietly pursue a post-Brexit reset through technical agreements; it is another to hand the opposition an attack line as clean as this.
Opposition parties will inevitably accuse Reeves and the government of wanting to “row back on Brexit” – particularly if they choose to opt for a closer relationship.
What exactly that looks like is unclear – but it is expected to be looked at as part of the annual process of bilateral talks.
The two announcements do, in their different ways, highlight the same thing: the government believes longer-term structural change is needed. Both will take time, but both could certainly have a profound impact if done in the way they’ve been billed.
Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Tom and Robert dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda in every episode…