Healey signals welfare reform push and new apprenticeships scheme

John Healey told the conference: ‘Benefits should be a bridge to work, to wider participation, to a better life, not a trap that people can’t escape.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

John Healey has signalled Labour will stage a fresh attempt at welfare reform as he pledged to put fiscal discipline at the core of next month’s budget, alongside measures to inject hope into Britain’s economy.

In his first speech as chancellor to the Labour conference, Healey warned that next month’s highly anticipated tax-and-spending event would need to take into account a challenging global backdrop.