Chancellor Healey to promise 'new age of industrialisation' for UK

Chancellor John Healey will promise "a new age of industrialisation" for the UK in his first Labour conference speech as chancellor on Monday, backing the pledge with £115m for a new marine research vessel and a commitment to build three Royal Navy floating docks in British shipyards.

Healey will tell delegates in Liverpool that "our coal mines are not coming back", according to briefing ahead of the speech, but that Labour will remake Britain's industrial past "for the modern age" by backing advanced manufacturing.

The concrete announcements centre on shipbuilding. The former defence secretary will confirm that three new floating docks at HM Royal Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, will be built in the UK rather than put out to international tender.

Plans for the docks were first set out in 2023. They are expected to upgrade Faslane's facilities for the next generation of British submarines and come into service in the early 2030s. The docks form part of a wider £15bn upgrade programme for the Royal Navy's shipyards.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said in a speech on Sunday that the government would also commission a new marine research vessel as part of plans for a "new era of reindustrialisation". The chancellor is expected to announce £115m in funding for the ship, which is also set to enter service in the early 2030s.

"By backing British shipyards, we are not only boosting national security but also securing resilience in the industries that will drive growth today while building the capabilities the country needs for the future," Healey said ahead of his speech.

Political heat over money

The announcements land with just a month to go until Healey's first Budget. The chancellor is under pressure to cut spending or raise taxes to tackle the ballooning cost of government borrowing, but he is not expected to reveal any Budget details in Liverpool. Instead, he will attempt to set out a positive vision for British industry, built around what he will call a "new confidence in Britain".

The Conservatives attacked the plans as recycled. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith called them "reheated announcements" with "no clarity on where the money is coming from".

"Labour are running scared of making the tough choices needed to pay for Britain's defence," Griffith said. "All they can offer is reannounced docks and more hot air from Healey. Only the Conservatives will cut the welfare bill to fund defence."

The GMB union, which has campaigned for the domestic-tendering move, welcomed it. Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, the union's national secretary, said it would be a "massive boost" for the UK's shipbuilding sector.

"For too long juicy contracts have been sent to overseas - often subsidised - yards," Brumpton-Childs said. "This policy could reinvigorate UK yards and the communities that depend on them."

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is due to deliver his own headline conference speech on Tuesday, has previously spoken about his ambition to "reindustrialise" Britain, including in talks last week with US President Donald Trump.

Economic backdrop and Budget pressure

The speech comes against a weakening economic backdrop. In a survey to be published on Monday, the Confederation of British Industry will highlight falling economic activity across key sectors such as retail and services in the three months to September, with manufacturing declining more moderately.

CBI deputy chief economist Alpesh Paleja said rising energy and employment costs combined with weak demand were continuing to put pressure on profit margins.

"Uncertainty ahead of next month's Budget is also holding back activity in some sectors," Paleja said. "Against the backdrop of renewed fiscal pressures, the Budget must draw a clear red line under any more rises in the cost of hiring, investing and doing business."

Healey also faces pressure from Labour's trade union backers on the cost of living. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, has called on the chancellor to "do something for workers and the working class" in his Budget. She urged him to unfreeze income tax thresholds "to put money back into people's pockets" and take further action on energy bills.

Skills funding

In his conference speech, Healey will also announce plans to bring back a training scheme run by trade unions, helping workers in England gain new skills and adapt as technology, including AI, changes the workplace.

The Union Learning Fund will get £15m in taxpayers' money, taken from existing government budgets. Employees do not need to be union members to benefit, with support options ranging from essential English, maths and digital skills to training for jobs in growing industries such as advanced manufacturing.

With the Budget a month away, the conference rhetoric on industrial renewal will be tested against the fiscal choices still to come.