Rachel Reeves: Stop being negative about savers buying shares

In reference to her recent travails – including a tearful appearance in the House of Commons – Reeves said that during a visit to a school, a girl had asked her what job she would do if she could have any job in the world.

“Given the events of the last few weeks, I suspect many of you would sympathise if I had said “anything but chancellor”,” she joked with the audience. “But I didn’t.”

In her speech, Reeves said she would “continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months”.

She also provided more details about changes to the UK’s financial services sector including reforming regulation.

“In too many areas, regulation still acts as a boot on the neck of businesses,” she said. “Choking off the enterprise and innovation that is the lifeblood of growth.”

She said regulators in other sectors “must take up the call I make this evening not to bend to the temptation of excessive caution but to boldly regulate for growth in the service of prosperity across our country”.

Ahead of giving his own speech at the Mansion House gathering, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey was asked if there was a trade-off between providing stability and growth.

In the past, Mr Bailey has been cautious about deregulation.

But he told the BBC: “In no way am I suggesting that all our rules are perfectly formed so no, there isn’t a trade off but that doesn’t mean to say that we don’t change and modernise the system and keep it up to date – we balance those two things.”