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UK chancellor John Healey targets growth and urges honest spending control

Healey tied his 28 October budget to meeting the goal of balancing day-to-day spending with tax receipts by 2029-30, amid pressure on public finances from high long-term bond yields.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Europe

UK Chancellor John Healey said boosting economic growth will be his defining mission as he prepares his 28 October budget, while warning that Labour must be honest about the need to control public spending.

In his first major speech since taking the job in July, Healey also said the budget would act as a roadmap for further devolution of tax and spending powers to regional mayors, and he linked the growth push to sticking to the government’s fiscal rules.

Speaking against a backdrop of jittery global financial markets, Healey said he and Andy Burnham are in lockstep on the commitment to balance day-to-day spending with tax receipts by 2029-30.

The Guardian reported Healey pointed to soaring long-term bond yields, including borrowing costs reaching an 18-year high last week, as a reason stronger growth is needed to help balance the books, and he acknowledged economists have warned the government could face choices to raise taxes or cut spending as pressures build.

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