Chancellor John Healey admitted that the money former Labour leader Tony Blair's 1990s Labour government had is “simply not there” now, but vowed to grow a “bigger cake” of wealth by backing British businesses. Speaking to attendees at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool today, Healey, who will deliver his first budget in exactly one month, declared that London should not “shoulder the economic burden alone” in building the country’s economy and pledged to ensure that any growth is “shared” across Britain. Healey faces a tricky economic situation ahead of his first fiscal statement next month, with analysts estimating the chancellor has between just £8.5 billion and £12 billion in fiscal headroom, leaving the exchequer precious little money to spend on political goals.
The chancellor swerved any budget announcements, but in a nod to businesses — which are fearing a tax grab on Oct. 28 — Healey said that fiscal discipline and British firms are key to his plans for “growth in every postcode.” “We need wealth created in more places, new levels of confidence, investment and, yes, profit. It’s business that will create this country's growth and wealth,” he said.
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