John Healey, Labour's new Chancellor, delivered his first major speech at the Labour Party Conference, emphasising the government's commitment to adhering to fiscal rules amid challenging economic circumstances. Drawing a comparison to a famous 2010 note left by Labour's Liam Byrne, Healey acknowledged that the public finances are severely constrained and the Treasury lacks the resources it once had. His remarks sought to establish expectations that Labour will maintain fiscal discipline despite inheriting a difficult economic inheritance.

Healey attributed the current economic difficulties to 14 years of Conservative governance, citing austerity measures under David Cameron, the economic damage of Brexit under Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss's mini-Budget as factors that undermined growth and public finances. He contrasted this with Gordon Brown's tenure in the 1990s, noting that economic growth under Labour had been "more than double" the subsequent Conservative years. Healey's framing positioned Labour's fiscal responsibility as a necessary correction after what he characterised as years of financial mismanagement that left Britain with sky-high debt costs.