Chancellor Healey to pledge "new age of industrialisation" at Labour conference

John Healey is set to use his first speech to Labour's annual conference as chancellor to promise a "new age of industrialisation" for the United Kingdom, vowing to renew British manufacturing and shipbuilding in a bid to revive economic confidence.

The address, due on Monday in Liverpool, will be his first major public set-piece as chancellor, months after the party leadership changed hands. Healey, a former defence secretary, is expected to tell delegates that the era of deepcast coal mining is gone for good — "our coal mines are not coming back", as the article puts it — but argue that Britain's industrial legacy can be recast for contemporary conditions by throwing weight behind advanced manufacturing.

Central to the speech is a package of naval orders intended to keep work at home rather than sending it abroad. Healey is expected to announce that three new floating docks will be constructed for the Royal Navy at HM Royal Naval Base Clyde in Faslane, and that they will be built in Britain instead of being put out to international competition. The proposals were first drawn up in 2023 and are designed to modernise the Scottish base so it can service the next generation of British submarines.

The floating docks are one element of a wider, £15bn programme to upgrade the Royal Navy's shipyard facilities, with the new installations expected to enter service in the early 2030s. Officials frame the decision as a national security measure as much as an economic one, arguing that domestic capacity in heavy engineering is a form of resilience in an uncertain global trading environment.

A second element concerns research. First Secretary of State Louise Haigh indicated on Sunday that ministers will commission a new marine research vessel, describing it as part of a "new era of reindustrialisation". The chancellor is expected to attach £115m to the project, with the ship also due to enter service in the early 2030s.

Healey has pre-empted the criticism, insisting that backing British shipyards does double duty for the country. By securing orders domestically, he said, the government strengthens national security while also protecting the industrial base that generates growth now and supplies the capabilities the armed forces will need in the decades ahead.

Not everyone is convinced. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith dismissed the announcements as "reheated announcements" and questioned the absence of detail on funding, saying voters had been given no clarity about where the money would come from. In sharper terms, he claimed Labour was "running scared" of the difficult choices required to finance Britain's defence commitments, and that the package amounted to reannounced docks and "hot air". Only the Conservatives, he said, would reduce the welfare bill to pay for defence spending.

The GMB union, which has campaigned for the shipbuilding move, welcomed it. National secretary Charlotte Brumpton-Childs called the decision a "massive boost" for the sector, pointing out that lucrative contracts had for too often been awarded to overseas yards, frequently ones supported by foreign subsidies. In his view, the policy could revitalise British shipyards and the communities whose economies depend on them.

The speech lands amid mounting fiscal strain. With only about a month until the chancellor's first Budget, he faces pressure to reduce spending or raise taxes to address the rapidly rising cost of government borrowing. Officials have signalled, however, that he will not set out Budget specifics in Liverpool. Instead, the intention is to offer an upbeat, forward-looking narrative built on what has been dubbed a "new confidence in Britain".

That optimism is at odds with the latest data. A Confederation of British Industry survey due to be published on Monday points to declining output in retail and services over the three months to September, with manufacturing also falling, though at a slower pace. CBI deputy chief economist Alpesh Paleja said higher energy and labour costs, combined with subdued demand, continue to squeeze profit margins. He also suggested that uncertainty about the upcoming Budget is freezing activity in some parts of the economy, and argued that the fiscal update must put a firm limit on any further increases in the cost of hiring, investment and doing business.

The chancellor is also coming under pressure from some of Labour's union supporters to address the cost of living directly. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has urged him to do something tangible for workers, including unfreezing income tax thresholds to put money back in people's pockets, and taking additional steps to bring down energy bills.

Among the more unexpected announcements is the return of a union-run training programme. The Union Learning Fund will be revived with £15m drawn from existing departmental budgets, helping workers in England acquire new skills as automation and artificial intelligence reshape the workplace. The scheme is open to employees regardless of union membership, and offers range from basic English, maths and digital literacy to preparation for jobs in expanding sectors such as advanced manufacturing.

The industrial message also fits a wider political theme. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is due to deliver his own conference speech on Tuesday, has repeatedly talked about his determination to reindustrialise the country, a theme he raised during talks with US President Donald Trump last week.

For Healey, the challenge is to make the case for long-term investment at a moment when the Treasury's immediate priority is balancing the books. Whether the promise of floating docks, a research ship and a skills programme amounts to a turning point for British industry, or simply a relaunch of existing commitments, is likely to shape the reception to a speech designed to project momentum rather than detail.