UK Chancellor John Healey has pledged a “new age of industrialisation” as Labour seeks to rebuild Britain’s industrial base, strengthen employment opportunities and restore economic confidence while maintaining strict control over public finances.
Addressing Labour Party delegates in Liverpool, Healey presented the government’s economic programme as a politics of hope built around fiscal discipline, good work and stronger industries.
“Today I want to talk about the politics of hope, our belief in a better day. Our conviction that committed citizens can change the world, no matter how hard the task, how daunting the odds. This is our Labour politics, that hope that is earned, earned through fiscal discipline, through good work and through strong industries.
John Healey
He added, “ I want to tell you how we’ll bring back hope and a new age of industrialisation, because conference, I believe in Britain and we believe in Britain.”
According to John Healey, Britain’s future prosperity depends on rebuilding productive capacity and creating opportunities for people who have been left behind by decades of economic change.
Healey linked the government’s industrial ambitions to the legacy of decades of political and economic decisions that had weakened Britain’s industrial base.
He argued that political power had become increasingly centralised while economic power had been privatised, leaving communities outside London with fewer opportunities and a growing sense that the economy was not working for them.
“But you know, it’s not just the debt that the Tories have left us over the decades. As Andy has argued, this country has seen political power centralised, economic power privatised, Britain deindustrialised. The result today? Too many people today feel Britain hasn’t been working for them, for their family, for their area.”
John Healey
Moreover, Healey stated that the government wanted economic activity to be generated in more parts of Britain rather than remaining heavily concentrated in London.
“Growth doesn’t just happen, we have to work for it. We have to create the conditions for it and without growth there is no social democracy. You can’t fund ends without the means. That’s the lesson for our generation. Labour isn’t just here to cut the cake in a different way, we have to bake a bigger cake and make sure it’s fairly shared.”
John Healey
He argued that businesses would play a central role in delivering that economic transformation, with government responsible for creating conditions that encourage investment and employment.
“We need growth generated in more places, we need wealth created in more places and I want our government decisions and our policies to bring new levels of confidence, investment and, yes, profits in British businesses. Because it is businesses that will create this country’s wealth and jobs and growth.”
John Healey
The emphasis on industrial activity was reinforced by Healey’s announcement that Rolls-Royce would invest £300 million in British factories, an investment he presented as part of the wider effort to strengthen Britain’s manufacturing capacity.
The Chancellor also highlighted measures already introduced by the Labour government, including the return of railways to public ownership, new rights for renters and workers, and intervention to save British Steel.
Healey argued that Labour governments had historically created institutions intended to serve future generations.
“In just the last two years look at what we’ve achieved as a Labour Government, railways coming back into public hands, new rights for renters, new rights at work, British Steel saved. And look at how we acted in Andy’s first week in Prime Minister, we acted on the cost-of-living pressures.”
John Healey
Britain Targets Fiscal Discipline and Industrial Renewal
Moreover, John Healey used his conference speech to underline his commitment to the government’s fiscal rules, arguing that Britain’s debt burden limits the resources available for essential public services.
He described the country’s national debt as “an assault on our common sense”, insisting that the issue was not merely an accounting figure but a constraint on government spending.
“It’s the money that we can’t spend on the NHS, on schools, on housing, on social care, on policing our streets, on controlling our borders, on defending our country. And I tell you these levels of debt are an assault on our common sense. They’re an affront to our values. And that’s where the Prime Minister and I are in lockstep that we will meet the fiscal rules, that we will maintain control of Britain’s finances.”
John Healey
He warned that excessive borrowing would ultimately place greater pressure on working people.
“The Prime Minister and I are united in meeting the fiscal rules, balancing the books with a buffer against uncertainty, controlling borrowing to bring down inflation and reducing long-term pressures on our finances.
John Healey
He added, “that commitment is so important. There is nothing progressive about losing control, because it’s always working people who pay for it.”
Also, the Chancellor warned that the benefits bill could not continue expanding without reforms designed to move more people towards employment.
“Our social security system must always be there for those who can never work. But for everyone else, benefits should be a bridge to work, to wider participation, to a better life, not a trap that people can’t escape. And conference, it is simply not progressive to allow a bigger and a bigger benefits bill and a system which offers an income but doesn’t offer a future.”
John Healey
He added, “so once again, as a Labour Government it falls to us. And this is more than just an economic must, it’s a moral duty. And I refuse to write off a million young people like the Tories have done.”
Concluding his speech, he stated that the country’s future would be built on “good work, fresh hope, a new age of industry, and the solidarity that has already carried this country forward,” adding that, “a country that can hope again, a country that will hope again, earned by Labour, delivered for Britain.”
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