British Treasury chief John Healey faces a fine balancing act when he delivers his first budget statement Wednesday, with the economic backdrop made more difficult as a result of the turmoil caused by the Iran war.

Healey, who was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in July when Andy Burnham became prime minister, takes center stage when he stands up in the House of Commons in what is arguably Parliament's key set-piece of the calendar.

Even though the British economy has been more resilient than anticipated this year and has grown strongly, the problem is that the money just isn't there for Healey to enact many of the Labour government's ambitions on restoring the health of the country's public services.