‘What breathing space?’ Top economist and Labour MP debate the Budget Video 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 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Shell leads risers as market digests ‘do no harm’ Budget FTSE 100 Live Welcome to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Thursday morning and stocks are set to rise on the market open. Investors will be picking through John Healey’s maiden Budget throughout the day, which pushed up shares in banks and gambling firms after they were spared worse tax raids. The FTSE 100 closed level on Wednesday [...]
Autumn Budget 2026: ‘Steady as she goes’ is no good when the economy’s adrift Opinion John Healey avoided several icebergs but there are nasty storms on the horizon, says William Nixon The Chancellor opened his speech by claiming the Budget would help “steer” the UK’s economy through “global economic storms”. He can be commended for avoiding the twin icebergs of major new tax hikes and pre-Budget speculation that sank Rachel [...]
Another all-time-high tax burden? Business as usual then October 29, 2026 The Autumn Budget has paved away for an all-time-high tax burden, but isn't that just what we all expect now, writes Valentin Boboc.
‘Smoke and mirrors’: Why high street still faces a £250m tax hike under Healey October 29, 2026 Andy Burnham propelled himself to Downing Street by pledging a revival of Britain’s struggling high streets. Felix Armstrong asks: has John Healey delivered it? Among the sectors clamouring for John Healey’s attention ahead of his maiden Budget, none were louder than those calling for the government to revitalise Britain’s ailing high street retailers. Shuttered shops, [...]
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 [...]
‘Sigh of relief’ as Healey woos British founders with £10m tax break October 29, 2026 Britain’s startup founders have welcomed a sweeping package of tax breaks in John Healey’s first Budget, but investors warned that the Chancellor’s attempt to keep the country’s most promising businesses at home will fall short without more capital to help them grow. At the centre of Wednesday’s announcement was a new Founders’ Relief, offering entrepreneurs [...]
Watching my first Budget: An idiot’s blow-by-blow account October 28, 2026 Culture writer Adam Bloodworth tried to watch the Budget 2026 in full. Here’s how that went, with all the excruciating detail I am an alien in the City AM office. While the other journalists concern themselves with taxation and business rates, I am writing about theatre and restaurants. City AM’s tagline is ‘business with personality,’ [...]
Budget 2026: Government to ‘act soon’ to address gender pay gap and pay transparency October 28, 2026 The government is addressing “calls” to introduce mandatory pay transparency in job adverts and tackle gender pay gaps at firms, chancellor John Healey said in his Budget. Healey said he has “heard calls” to introduce the measure that will ensure employers will be required to disclose salary ranges on job listings, as well as confirming [...]
Capital gains tax incentive may benefit but ‘disrupt’ professional services sector October 28, 2026 The new capital gains tax incentive Chancellor John Healey unveiled in his Budget may benefit LLP firms in the professional services sector if they qualify, but it also risks disrupting partner dynamics within the firms. Healey announced the so-called ‘Founder’s Relief’ capital gains tax (CGT) incentive in his Budget speech on Wednesday in a bid [...]