UK Chancellor John Healey is set to pledge a “new age of industrialisation” for Britain, with plans to strengthen advanced manufacturing and revive the country’s shipbuilding industry.
Speaking at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool on Monday, Healey is expected to argue that while Britain’s coal mines will not return, the country can rebuild its industrial strength around modern technologies and manufacturing.
The chancellor will announce that three new floating docks for the Royal Navy at HM Naval Base Clyde in Faslane will be built in the UK rather than being put out to international tender.
The docks are part of a wider £15 billion programme to upgrade Royal Navy shipyards and are expected to enter service in the early 2030s.
New investment in shipbuilding
The government is also expected to announce £115 million for a new marine research vessel, which will be commissioned as part of its plans for a “new era of reindustrialisation”. The vessel is also expected to enter service in the early 2030s.
The announcements come as the government faces pressure to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said on Monday that investment in the floating docks would create “more jobs and opportunities” in Britain, arguing that higher defence spending was justified by the increasingly volatile international security environment.
Healey said backing British shipyards would strengthen national security while building resilience in industries expected to drive future economic growth.
Budget pressure mounts
The announcements come less than a month before Healey’s first Budget, with the chancellor under growing pressure to raise taxes or reduce spending as the cost of government borrowing increases.
Healey is not expected to disclose details of his Budget plans in his conference speech. Instead, he will focus on presenting a long-term vision for British industry built around what he describes as “a new confidence in Britain”.
The opposition has criticised the shipbuilding plans, with shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith describing them as recycled announcements and questioning how the government will finance them.
The Confederation of British Industry is also due to publish a survey showing weaker economic activity across key sectors including retail and services in the three months to September. Manufacturing activity has declined more moderately, while rising energy and employment costs and weak demand have continued to squeeze profit margins.
Union training fund to return
Healey will also announce the return of a trade union-backed training programme aimed at helping workers acquire new skills as technology, including artificial intelligence, transforms workplaces.
The Union Learning Fund will receive £15 million from existing government budgets. The scheme will be open to workers regardless of whether they are union members and will cover areas ranging from basic English, maths and digital skills to training for jobs in expanding sectors such as advanced manufacturing.
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