John Healey will promise “a new age of industrialisation” for the UK, when he delivers his first Labour conference speech as chancellor on Monday.

Healey will tell delegates “our coal mines are not coming back”, but that Labour will remake Britain’s industrial past “for the modern age” by backing advanced manufacturing.

He will also announce plans to boost Britain’s shipbuilding industry, with new orders for Royal Navy floating docks and a maritime research vessel.

With just a month to go until his first Budget, the chancellor is under pressure to cut spending or raise taxes to tackle the ballooning cost of government borrowing.

But he is not expected to reveal any details about his Budget plans in his speech at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool.

Instead, he will attempt to set out a positive vision for the future of British industry, based around what he will call a “new confidence in Britain”.

The former defence secretary will announce that three new floating docks at HM Royal Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, will be built in the UK, rather than put out to international tender.

Plans for the new docks were first set out in 2023 and are expected to upgrade Faslane’s facilities for the next generation of British submarines.

The docks form part of a wider £15bn upgrade programme for the Royal Navy’s shipyards and are expected to come into service in the early 2030s.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said in a speech on Sunday that the government would also commission a new marine research vessel as part of plans for a “new era of reindustrialisation”.

The chancellor is expected to announce £115m in funding for the ship, which is also set to come into service in the early 2030s.

Ahead of his speech, Healey said: “By backing British shipyards, we are not only boosting national security but also securing resilience in the industries that will drive growth today while building the capabilities the country needs for the future.”

Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the plans were “reheated announcements” with “no clarity on where the money is coming from”.

He added: “Labour are running scared of making the tough choices needed to pay for Britain’s defence.

“All they can offer is reannounced docks and more hot air from Healey. Only the Conservatives will cut the welfare bill to fund defence.”

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, national secretary of the GMB union, which has campaigned for the move, said it would be a “massive boost” for the UK’s shipbuilding sector.

“For too long juicy contracts have been sent to overseas – often subsidised – yards.

“This policy could reinvigorate UK yards and the communities that depend on them,” he added.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham – who is due to deliver his big conference speech on Tuesday – has previously spoken about his ambition to “reindustrialise” Britain, including in talks last week with US President Donald Trump.

But in a survey to be published on Monday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will highlight falling economic activity across key sectors such as retail and services in the three months to September, with manufacturing declining more moderately.

CBI deputy chief economist Alpesh Paleja said rising energy and employment costs combined with weak demand were continuing to put pressure on profit margins.

He added: “Uncertainty ahead of next month’s Budget is also holding back activity in some sectors.

“Against the backdrop of renewed fiscal pressures, the Budget must draw a clear red line under any more rises in the cost of hiring, investing and doing business.”

The chancellor is also under pressure from some of Labour’s trade union backers to do more to tackle the cost of living.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, has called on Healey to “do something for workers and the working class” in his Budget.

She urged him to unfreeze income tax thresholds “to put money back into people’s pockets” and take further action on energy bills.

In his conference speech, Healey will also announce plans to bring back a training scheme run by trade unions, to help workers in England gain new skills and adapt as technology, including AI, changes the workplace.

The Union Learning Fund will get £15m in taxpayers’ money, taken from existing government budgets.

Employees do not need to be union members to benefit, with support options ranging from essential English, maths and digital skills, to training for jobs in growing industries, such as advanced manufacturing.

In Aberdeen’s boom years of North Sea oil, from the late 1970s through to the early 2010s, it didn’t have to work hard to fill its hotels and restaurants and get the cash tills ringing because of the wealth the energy industry brought to the city.

I remember weekends with friends as a teenager, spending whatever cash we had in the fashion chains and shoe shops. Later came the pubs and bar-hopping, and trips to the art deco Capitol Theatre (now office space), where I saw Duran Duran.

But by the end of 2022, Union Street had hit rock bottom. Aberdonians had long deserted the High Street for a shopping centre, which opened in 2009 next to the railway station.

“They’d fallen out of love with their city,” says Bob Keiller, head of Our Union Street coalition, a community-led group formed after an emergency summit to reverse the decline.

The first thing it did was listen to what residents wanted, receiving thousands of submissions. Restoring a bit of civic pride and filling empty units became the focus.

It’s been a co-ordinated effort, involving letting agents, the council, landlords, businesses and a big team of volunteers, led by Keiller, a former FTSE 100 CEO, who isn’t getting paid. He has a map on his office wall, detailing the status of every property, unit by unit, with colour-coded Post-it notes.

They audited the street, tracking down absent landlords, and logging what was empty and why. Volunteers offered to give the empty properties a clean and a lick of paint, to make them more attractive to let. They also spruced up the streets, picking litter, weeding, and painting bins. A small team still goes out once a fortnight.

Walmart is assuring customers it will not use personal data or AI to personalize prices.

In a letter published Friday, Walmart President and CEO John Furner reaffirmed the retail giant’s long-standing “Every Day Low Prices” strategy, saying the company prices “the product, not the person.”

“I’ve heard concerns about companies using that information and technology to charge you more,” Furner said. “I want to tell you where we stand: We price the product, not the person.”

Furner said prices may fluctuate when the cost of goods or transportation changes, but stressed that Walmart will not use a customer’s income, shopping history, urgency or other personal information to set prices.

WALMART LAUNCHES WEEKLONG FALL SALE OVERLAPPING AMAZON PRIME BIG DEAL DAYS

Walmart is assuring customers it will not use personal data to charge different shoppers different prices. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We won’t do it,” Furner said. “YOU are at the heart of our WHY and our relationship with you has always been built on trust. For decades, our associates have built that trust, one interaction at a time.”

“So, as technology improves, we’re putting the same attention on trust and serving you as we do when you walk into our stores and clubs.”

Furner also addressed Walmart’s rollout of digital shelf labels, saying the technology is meant to improve price accuracy while reducing the amount of time that employees spend replacing paper tags.

“A shelf price should match what rings up at checkout. Digital shelf labels help us do that more consistently by displaying the right price,” he said. “They also save associates time replacing paper tags.”

WALMART AGREES TO PAY $50M SETTLEMENT OVER ALLEGATIONS ITS PHARMACIES FILLED ILLEGAL OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS

Furner also addressed Walmart’s rollout of digital shelf labels, saying the technology is intended to improve price accuracy and reduce the time employees spend replacing paper tags. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Furner added, “It may sound like an easy task – but as someone who has had to change those paper tags by hand over the years, I can tell you it’s a time-consuming and unrewarding task.”

The CEO also detailed Walmart’s plans for artificial intelligence, including its AI shopping assistant, Sparky, noting that the tool is intended to deliver more personalized shopping assistance.

“When you engage with Sparky, that’s an invitation to serve you better, not to use your personal information to set a personalized price. We’ve never used the relationships our associates have with customers to charge more, and we won’t do that with AI,” Furner said.

Walmart said it is making three commitments: it will not set different prices based on who a customer is or the time of day; it will not use information shared through Sparky to raise prices or hide lower-priced options; and it will continue giving customers control over how their personal information is used.

WALMART LAUNCHES NEW FASHION BRAND WITH MOST ITEMS PRICED UNDER $25

The CEO also detailed Walmart’s plans for artificial intelligence, including its AI shopping assistant, Sparky, saying the tool is meant to deliver more personalized shopping assistance. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Semafor)

“Our people will continue to oversee pricing, and we’ll monitor and test our technology against these commitments,” Furner said.

CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO

“Thank you for trusting us with part of your family’s budget. If there’s one thing I hope you take from this note, it’s how much we value the trust you place in us. Technology will keep changing. Our responsibility to earn your trust and help you save money and live better won’t.”

This article was written by

Follow

This article was written by

Follow

The Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike in more than three years is likely to increase borrowing costs for many consumers, particularly those carrying variable-rate debt such as credit cards and home equity lines of credit.

Earlier this month, the Fed voted unanimously to raise its benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points, lifting its target range from 3.5%-3.75% to 3.75%-4%. The increase marked the central bank’s first rate hike since July 2023 after holding rates steady through its first five meetings of the year.

For consumers, the biggest impact will likely come through higher borrowing costs.

“Borrowing just got a little bit more expensive,” George Kamel, co-host of “The Ramsey Show,” told FOX Business. “… Think, your credit card — instead of 28%, it might be 28.25%. Your mortgage, if you go get a new mortgage today on a fixed rate, it might go from 6% to 6.25%.”

WHY THE FED ISN’T READY TO DECLARE VICTORY ON INFLATION

Kamel said the Fed’s decision primarily affects variable-rate debt, including credit cards. (iStock)

Kamel said the Fed’s decision primarily affects variable-rate debt, including credit cards, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and adjustable-rate mortgages once they reset.

Consumers with existing fixed-rate mortgages, auto loans and other fixed-rate debt generally will not see their monthly payments change.

For Americans carrying credit card balances, Kamel said the latest rate hike should serve as another reminder to make paying down high-interest debt a priority.

“Credit cards have some of the highest APRs of any kind of consumer debt, anywhere from 20% all the way up to 30%,” Kamel said. “… Cut up the cards, stop using the cards, don’t add anything more to the balance, and just aggressively try to knock down extra onto the principal until that thing is gone.”

FEDERAL RESERVE HIKES INTEREST RATES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2023 AMID STUBBORN INFLATION

Mortgage rates are influenced more by Treasury yields and the bond market than by the federal funds rate, Kamel said. (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Kamel said he recommends the “debt snowball” strategy, which involves paying off debts from the smallest balance to the largest while making minimum payments on all other accounts.

Mortgage rates are influenced more by Treasury yields and the bond market than by the federal funds rate, Kamel said.

Still, prospective homebuyers could see borrowing costs edge higher. 

“It’s not going to be a life-changing amount, but it just makes it a little bit more difficult for those people who are trying to get their foot in the door of homeownership,” he said.

Savers, however, may see a modest benefit. Kamel said banks could gradually raise yields on high-yield savings accounts, allowing consumers to earn more on emergency funds and down payment savings.

WHAT WARSH’S JACKSON HOLE SPEECH SIGNALS ABOUT WHERE INTEREST RATES ARE HEADED

Ultimately, Kamel said consumers should focus on paying down variable-rate debt and building savings rather than worrying about future Fed moves. (FOX Business)

“There is a silver lining to the Fed funds rate hike, and that is high-yield savings accounts could get a boost,” he said.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Overall, Kamel said consumers should focus on paying down variable-rate debt and building savings rather than worrying about future Fed moves.

“The Fed is going to move rates up and down for the rest of your life,” he said. “Your job is to make sure it doesn’t matter when they do.”

FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.