Healey uses speech to reassure that he is a safe personpublished at 12:36 BST
Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent, reporting from Liverpool
Much of the talk around Andy Burnham in the weeks before he became prime minister focused on how much he would be willing to spend.
This time last year, Andy Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, caused a stir at the Labor conference by suggesting that the country needed to stop struggling with the bond markets.
These comments have led some to believe that a Burnham government may seek to spend and borrow more money.
Some of the prime minister’s critics feared the approach would spook markets and cause borrowing costs to rise even higher.
Burnham has since sought to reassure people and expressed his belief in economic restraint.
The appointment of John Healey as Chancellor was intended to signal that he had put safe hands in the Treasury.
And he used the speech to emphasize that he will stick to the previous government’s fiscal rules, designed to keep bond markets out.
Economically, the chancellor’s entourage believes that there is no other option.
But politically, this slows down the government.
A big question posed by Labor members here will be whether Burnham and Healey can deliver the kind of change they have promised, while still playing by these rules.
Gn world
