Healey Targets Fiscal Discipline with Plans for Public Spending Control

UK Chancellor John Healey announced plans to control public spending and help the economy deliver on its potential in his first major speech since taking over at the Treasury. Speaking in Coventry ahead of next month's Budget, Healey emphasized the need for fiscal discipline to address high government borrowing costs and reduce inflationary pressures.

He acknowledged the impact of global crises, including the war in the Middle East and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on the UK economy but expressed optimism about its future. 'The Prime Minister and I are in lockstep in our commitment to meeting the fiscal rules at the upcoming Budget,' he said.

The Chancellor also announced plans to extend reforms of judicial review from energy projects to all major infrastructure programmes, which he claimed would mean 'vexatious litigation and challenge can't block economic growth.'