Healey accused of repeating Reeves's mistakes as critics say he wants change but will not pay for it

From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026.

John Healey's first Labour conference speech as Chancellor has been met with a barrage of critical commentary, with observers from across the political divide arguing that his calls for economic change are undermined by his own policy choices. He cautioned that Britain's welfare bill has grown too large and that young people should be in work rather than receiving handouts — yet was promptly challenged over his government raising benefit payments and making hiring more expensive for employers. The UK's national debt now stands at just under £3 trillion, equivalent to 93.8 per cent of GDP, a ratio last recorded in the early 1960s.

Healey praised his predecessor Rachel Reeves for 'financial discipline' before conceding that 'the money New Labour had in the nineties is simply not there now.'

Critics say Healey is cutting against his own stated goals by increasing welfare payments and piling costs onto employers through new employment rules.

Andrew Neil accused Healey of being too busy boasting in his speech to explain how any of his ambitions would actually be paid for.