Chancellor John Healey has promised to control government spending in next month's Budget, insisting the UK economy is “turning a corner” in his first major speech since taking over at the Treasury.
Speaking in Coventry on September 7, Mr Healey acknowledged the impact of high government borrowing costs and promised to address the rising burden on businesses. He sought to present an optimistic assessment of the UK’s economic future despite the impact of global crises including the war in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Commitment to fiscal rules
Mr Healey said: “The Prime Minister and I are in lockstep in our commitment to meeting the fiscal rules at the upcoming Budget, to balancing the books with a buffer to protect against uncertainty.”
He added: “To controlling borrowing to bear down on inflation and reducing long-term pressures on our public finances.” The Chancellor said the rising burden of debt interest showed “staying true to our values means being honest about the need to control government spending”.
But he insisted there was an “optimistic story” about the UK economy which had “huge latent potential”. It was, he said, “a country turning a corner, a country whose people, businesses and communities are ready to seize the opportunity of new technologies and new ideas”.
Infrastructure and devolution plans
Giving an overview of his plans for the economy, Mr Healey said the Government would extend its reforms of judicial review from energy projects to all major infrastructure programmes. He said the reforms would mean “vexatious litigation and challenge can’t block economic growth”.
The Chancellor also reiterated the Government’s commitment to transferring power out of Whitehall, saying he would set out a “roadmap to fiscal devolution” at next month’s Budget. Ahead of that, he said the British Business Bank would be providing £150 million for fast-growing firms in the North of England and announced the creation of a “Northern 500” group of “the North’s most ambitious mid-sized businesses”, to be led by regional mayors.
