Budget: Healey hikes taxes and delays defence spending as economy set to slump October 28, 2026 John Healey has announced a string of tax hikes to fund short-term measures worth billions of pounds to help households and businesses cope with rising prices, in a maiden Budget that omitted major spending plans on defence and welfare. In his speech, the Chancellor said the government would look to raise defence spending to three [...]
Budget 2026: Healey freezes fuel duty again October 28, 2026 John Healey has frozen fuel duty for a 15th consecutive year and extended the Ukraine war 5p cut, as part of a raft of small measures aimed to shield households from the Middle East conflict. The Chancellor confirmed the levy on petrol and diesel would remain frozen at 53p a litre until July, saying: “For [...]
Healey funds high street tax cuts with raid on gambling firms and online sellers October 28, 2026 The government will fund tax breaks for small high street shops by hiking taxes on gambling and cracking down on online sellers, John Healey said. In his first Budget, the Chancellor said he will slash taxes on the high street by raising the threshold at which small firms start paying business rates from £12,000 to [...]
Budget 2026: Healey grants HMRC sweeping powers to chase tax debts October 28, 2026 John Healey has given HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) more funding and sweeping powers “to collect overdue tax from those who can clearly afford to pay but ignore repeated contact”, in yet another clampdown on tax debts. The move marks a major expansion of the taxman’s power and comes amid the government’s push to stamp [...]
Autumn Budget 2026: In defence of cheaper gherkins, nature’s Ozempic October 28, 2026 In today’s Autumn Budget 2026, Chancellor John Healey announced he would be suspending tariffs on 100 supermarket products, including the humble gherkin. Adam Bloodworth on his love for the humble pickled vegetable, which is both delightfully crunchy and a hack to health My housemate Will has always been the sort of man with impossible levels [...]
Healey scraps ‘unfair’ standing charges from gas bills October 28, 2026 John Healey has said he will scrap “outdated and unfair” standing charges from gas bills, in a move which could save households £45 per year. The Chancellor said these fees – which are charged on top of the daily rate to cover the cost of connecting to a supply – are part of “an energy [...]
Budget 2026 Live: Healey introduces pension tax allowance and lays out bank surcharge plans October 28, 2026 Welcome to City AM‘s Budget liveblog. The Chancellor has delivered his Budget speech in the House of Commons. John Healey announced a range of measures to tackle the cost of living but the market will keep a close eye on his tax and spending plans as the government looks to balance the books. Healey has [...]
Budget 2026: Healey carves out political breathing space for Andy Burnham October 28, 2026 If John Healey’s looking for a political narrative to frame his Budget, perhaps he could borrow from AI behemoth Anthropic. The Claude-maker’s extraordinary IPO prospectus insists that for all the risks and uncertainty surrounding the technology and economics of AI, their approach will be “bold but sane.” In fact, the full quote is that “in [...]
Possible tax hikes for LLPs in Budget may ‘distort’ the market and push firms overseas October 27, 2026 Despite the professional services sector dodging tax hikes on LLPs in last year’s Budget, it remains unclear whether Chancellor John Healey will impose tax changes this time round, but Rosie Harris-Davison writes that experts have warned against any tax burdens on the sector. In the lead-up to last year’s Budget, whispers circulated for weeks that [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 slides as oil holds at $115; tech surges October 27, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 live blog. The FTSE 100 is sliding after a bruising session for heavyweight stocks, while tech continues to perform elsewhere. Brent crude is also trading above $115 per barrel as renewed diplomatic efforts in the Middle East raised hopes of preventing a wider escalation of the US-Iran [...]