Chancellor Healey pledges industrial push as budget tax hikes spark fiscal anxiety

Chancellor John Healey used his Labour conference speech in Liverpool to reassure markets amid fears that the forthcoming budget will rely on new taxes. He said inflation linked to Middle-East tensions and weak growth have eroded the Treasury’s fiscal “headroom”, and the OBR’s lower immigration forecasts could shave as much as £7 billion from expected revenues. Healey outlined a “new age of industrialisation”, promising support for shipbuilding with three new floating docks at HM Naval Base Clyde and £115 million for a new marine research vessel, while echoing Andy Burnham’s pledge for an NHS-style social-care system costing £18 billion a year.

Capital gains tax and other levies are being considered to raise cash. The speech came as oil prices surged and former US President Donald Trump hinted at a diesel export embargo, adding pressure on British fuel costs. Labour’s shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith criticised the proposals as unfunded and warned of a £4.7 billion defence funding gap.