Chancellor John Healey has called on G20 counterparts to boost international cooperation on defence funding, using talks in North Carolina to push for joint mechanisms to strengthen collective economic resilience. He cited the impact of the Iran conflict on energy prices as evidence that no single country can absorb such shocks alone, framing the push as a way to ease pressure on households and businesses. The summit comes as the UK's fiscal outlook darkens ahead of the Budget on 28 October, with concerns mounting over government borrowing and spending control.

At the summit, Healey met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Canada's Francois-Philippe Champagne and IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva. Public sector borrowing rose unexpectedly to £1.8 billion in July despite record income tax receipts, while inflation climbed to a four-month high of 2.9%. Healey, who resigned as Defence Secretary over the lack of a timetable for reaching 3% of GDP on defence spending, is not expected to set such a schedule at the Budget, instead deferring to next year's spending review, and has pledged to stick to the fiscal rules inherited from Rachel Reeves.