The FTSE 100 and European markets dipped slightly on Monday morning, as the Labour party conference kicks off and business leaders look to clues in the chancellor's headline speech.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today Show, Rachel Reeves said the government would not allow a return to austerity, adding that real-terms government spending would increase over the course of this government's term.

There will be questions about how the party intends to balance the books with spending and tax cuts. The promises follow data from last week, which showed UK public debt had ballooned to 100% of GDP, as spending ramped up to deal with the economic impact of Covid . Debt increased £3.3bn from August 2023, the latest ONS data showed.

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