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John Healey is now delivering his first major speech since taking the role of chancellor in July.

Tap watch live to follow along at the top of the page - we'll also bring you the key lines here.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Ahead of his first speech as chancellor, the backdrop has been testing.

Turmoil in global markets for government borrowing has pushed up costs. A few miles from the speech, Britain’s biggest manufacturer, is poised to announce thousands of redundancies. Even this morning, one of the main housing market measures showed a dip in prices for the first time in three years.

And yet surrounded by giant advanced manufacturing robots, the chancellor will strike an upbeat note containing references to optimism, resilience, grit, and that perennial economic phrase about turning a corner.

There is some substance in better economic numbers than other major economies so far in 2026.

The PM's attempt to strike a more positive tone - alongside the weather and World Cup - has also led to some better readings on consumer and business confidence, including from all important recruiters, albeit from a low base.

At the equivalent speech for the past two years, the public has been left with a clear message of tough times, and significant tax rises ahead. Not today.

The chancellor is trying to nurture some fragile early signs that confidence is returning. The burning question is how to fill multi billion gaps in public finance plans before the Budget, in a way that minimises the economic impact. While vibes are important, policy matters more.

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John Healey's first major speech as chancellor will be delivered in Coventry in the next half hour.

Just down the road, Jaguar Land Rover is expected to announce thousands of job cuts to save costs following competition from China for cheap cars, US tariffs on UK vehicles and the after effects of a cyber attack.

The company did not confirm the numbers but the Times reported as many as 4,000 jobs may be lost due to the impact of tariffs and a drop in sales.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has already ruled out any government bailout and will meet leadership this week with the aim to "mitigate any job losses".

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds told Radio 4's Today programme her thoughts were "with the workforce", adding: "We have yet to see the final announcement from the company".

She said the business secretary was “working closely” with JLR’s leadership and trade unions.

Andy Burnham will be facing increasing pressure ahead of next month's Budget after long-term government borrowing costs reached a 18-year high last week.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt also rose to 5.22% - the highest rate since the height of the global financial crisis in June 2008.

The yield on a 30-year gilt - a loan to the British government - rose to 5.89%, the highest since 1998.

Borrowing costs in the US, Japan and Europe have hit similar highs in recent days, reflecting investors' concerns about inflation, state borrowing levels and spending levels by large tech companies on AI.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for "good growth in every postcode", arguing last week that "Britain is not where we would wish it to be".

Burnham says he plans to devolve power form Whitehall to other parts of the UK, including Manchester and other cities outside the capital. He argues that this would boost the standard of living for families beyond London.

"From the 1980s, this country took a series of wrong turns," Burnham told the Commons during his first PMQs last week.

"Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, the country deindustrialised, austerity followed, hollowing out councils and depriving them of the agency to act to reverse any of this," he added.

"And then Brexit compounded the damage, ushering in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration."

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Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds tells Radio 4's Today programme the UK economy is "turning a corner" with growth better than other leading economies, although "obviously not as high as we'd like it to be".

"No one would say the economy is doing well," the BBC's Nick Robinson challenges. "I beg to differ," Reynolds says.

Reynolds says Healey will use his speech this morning to announce plans to help the sectors of the future, including support for businesses in the north of England to "drive growth in every postcode".

On next month's Budget - and whether Healey has pushed departments to find cuts - she says she is "not going to speculate on the Budget or write it on air".

Pressed on the economic challenges the government is facing, Reynolds says the chancellor has made it clear "fiscal discipline and stability is his first priority".

She says the UK is cutting its deficit "at a faster rate than any other leading world economy", adding that Healey has written to "every cabinet member" reinforcing that "we have to live within our means" - and that any new priorities must be funded by cutting spending in other areas.

Image source, UK Parliament

The cost of government borrowing has risen sharply in recent months, partly reflecting concerns about inflation.

It could put pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey as the Autumn Budget approaches.

In his first speech in the House of Commons as PM, Burnham said his government's "bedrock" would be "fiscal responsibility" as it seeks to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

But higher borrowing costs reduce the amount of headroom - or flexibility - the government has for spending on things like measures to ease the cost of living.

Jim O'Neill - a former key adviser to Burnham - said last week that the Budget would have to include either spending cuts or "some form of tax increases" in order to restore the government’s "headroom".

Defence spending is another challenge, with the government under growing pressure to reach a target of 3% of GDP by the end of the decade.

Burnham has pointed to his choice of chancellor as proof of his commitment to defence investment - Healey resigned from Keir Starmer's government in June over a defence spending row.

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In the next hour, we're also expecting Chancellor John Healey to unveil a £150m fund for companies in the north of England, part of the government's wider plan to stimulate economic growth across the UK.

The government will use public investment to "unlock private investment, to support our innovation economy, and to create the new jobs their areas need", Healey will say.

The fund, drawn from money already allocated to the British Business Bank, will provide investments of between £5m and £15m to the "most innovative and fast-growing firms".

It is expected to back university spin-outs and other "ambitious businesses" across the north.

Chancellor John Healey will deliver his first major speech on economic growth this morning.

Healey is set to give an upbeat view of the state of the UK economy ahead of next month's Budget, building on a recent uptick in consumer and business confidence.

The chancellor will talk of a "new story" of the economy not just turning a corner but being resilient, optimistic and "ready to seize the opportunities of new technologies and ideas".

It comes at a challenging time, with UK borrowing costs having surged in recent months - partly in response to inflation fears. Borrowing costs around the world have also been rising.

As he prepares to deliver his Budget on 28 October, Healey has said he is as committed to balancing the books as his predecessor, Rachel Reeves.

But higher borrowing costs could limit the amount he is able to spend on consumer-friendly measures to ease the cost of living.

You'll be able to watch the speech live at the top of the page from 09:30 BST as we bring you his top lines and analysis from our correspondents.

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