Healey has left £49bn blackhole in Britain’s finances, claims Badenoch Politics John Healey has left the UK with a £49bn black hole that will require substantial tax increases, Kemi Badenoch has claimed. The Conservative party leader said Labour would have to raise taxes by £,1,700 per household annually by the 2030/31 financial year to pay for unfunded spending promises. In particular, Badenoch accused the Chancellor of [...]
Labour will reduce ballooning benefits bill, claims John Healey Politics John Healey has vowed that Labour will reduce the benefits bill, after admitting the current system is “not working”. The Chancellor created widespread confusion earlier this week, after failing to clarify whether the ballooning cost of welfare will be cut before the next election by declining to put a timeframe to it. But Healey claimed [...]
Manchester United director Glazer donates $220,000 to Trump ahead of midterms Sport Business Manchester United director Edward Glazer has emerged as the leading donor to President Trump’s Republican Party among the Premier League’s sizeable American ownership contingent ahead of the US midterm elections. Glazer, whose family owns the majority of Manchester United, has donated over $220,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2026 through his Tampa Bay Buccaneers [...]
Rising welfare bill set to ‘swallow’ stealth tax revenue October 29, 2026 Rising benefit costs will “swallow” all the revenue from frozen tax thresholds that are dragging millions of workers into paying higher rates, analysis has found. The Centre for Social Justice has said that the £33bn increase in benefits spending between 2027 and 2032 will broadly match a rise in projected receipts from frozen income tax [...]
Healey’s grid pledge faces test as data centre pipeline stalls October 29, 2026 John Healey’s Budget pledge to fast-track electricity connections for British data centres faces an immediate test, as new research shows only 13 per cent of planned capacity is under construction. The Chancellor announced a new Data Centre Covenant on Wednesday, offering strategically important projects priority access to Britain’s electricity grid in exchange for commitments on [...]
‘What breathing space?’ Top economist and Labour MP debate the Budget October 29, 2026 Moments after John Healey sat down in the Commons, the City AM studio was filling up with guests to chew over what we’d just heard. Our columnist Helen Thomas, aka Blonde Money, joined Editor Christian May and Comment Editor Alys Denby to discuss the economic context and political impact, before it fell to Labour’s Callum [...]
Healey promises ‘reduction’ in welfare spending before election October 29, 2026 John Healey has promised there will be a “reduction” in the welfare bill before the next election despite the Budget not addressing huge payments on benefits and pensions. Healey told broadcasters on Thursday morning that the government was “ready to take some pretty tough decisions” to rein in spending although he echoed his predecessors in [...]
A breathing space Budget? This is asphyxiation October 29, 2026 If there were treats in John Healey’s pre-Halloween Budget they were hidden in a gloopy soup of tricks. Forget the talk about a low-key, ‘do no harm’ fiscal event; the Chancellor has delivered a mess of new interventions, subsidies, tax rises, quangos and complications against a backdrop of truly terrifying economic forecasts. Let’s start with [...]
Healey’s Budget spoiled by ‘grim’ living standards squeeze October 29, 2026 Britain is trapped in a “grim” decade of stagnant living standards, the budget watchdog has said, after John Healey kicked some of the government’s toughest spending decisions on defence and welfare into next year. The government’s fiscal watchdog said that families are about to see household income drop as a result of the country’s rising [...]
Healey avoids bond market backlash with ‘placeholder Budget’ October 28, 2026 John Healey has managed to avoid punishment at the hands of the bond market through a “placeholder Budget” that delayed big decisions on defence and welfare and left questions hanging over the government’s future spending plans. The Chancellor announced a raft of cost of living measures as part of his fiscal statement, funded by taxes [...]