LABOUR shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said today that the party will not be able to “turn things around straight away,” despite its pledges for improvements within 100 days in government.

Ms Reeves said she is “under no illusions” about the scale of the public spending challenge she will face if she becomes chancellor and even suggested Labour might cut public spending for certain departments.

She acknowledged that “public services need more money,” but said a spending review to set departmental budgets is not something she can carry out in opposition.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has said the current government plans “imply no real growth in public spending per person over the next five years,” while the Institute for Fiscal Studies accused both the Conservatives and Labour of a “conspiracy of silence” about public spending after the election.

On BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Reeves was asked to confirm whether there would be real-terms cuts to some government spending.

She replied: “It is clear that the inheritance that a Labour government would have if we do win the next election will be the worst since the second world war.

“And I have to be honest that we’re not going to be able to turn things around straight away. But we will get to work on all of that.”

She confirmed that plans for school breakfast clubs and measures to reduce NHS waiting lists would still go ahead, though Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has already implemented the measures to tax non-doms that would have paid for these initiatives and instead directed the money towards a cut in National Insurance.

“I do know that public services need more money: that’s why we will make that initial injection,” she said.

Ms Reeves said she would be scouring government documents to identify extra funding streams and stressed: “Everything in our manifesto will be fully costed and fully funded.”