John Healey says best thing we can offer young people is a first job

Key Points:

• In his first Labour Party conference speech as Chancellor, John Healey pledged to build a "more resilient country" through a "new age of industrialisation," announcing £6bn in contracts for British shipyards and a £300 million investment by Rolls-Royce in UK factories.
• Healey emphasized fiscal discipline ahead of his upcoming Budget, stating the government will adhere to existing fiscal rules and warning that the financial resources available now are far less than those during the 1990s Labour government.
• The Chancellor announced a £100 million apprenticeships scheme led by mayors to provide young people with jobs and training, highlighting this as a moral and economic priority over benefit payments.
• Healey reinstated the Union Learning Fund to support worker training, with a new focus on artificial intelligence to help British workers adapt to technological changes while acknowledging the national security risks posed by AI.
• Other Labour leaders at the conference, including Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, reaffirmed commitments to NATO defence spending and addressing challenges from AI and Middle East policy shifts.