Healey’s cost of living battle just got harder as workers face ‘real terms pay cut’ Economics Andy Burnham and John Healey have spoken at length about efforts to provide “breathing space” to both households and businesses. This task at next week’s Budget has now become more difficult. Over the summer the jobs market continued to weaken. Workers are at risk of being worse off while job seekers are finding it harder [...]
How bad has the ‘cost of living crisis’ really been? Opinion The 'cost of living crisis' has become a well-worn phrase over the last four years, but what do the numbers actually say, asks Paul Ormerod.
Governments should spend more on welfare to tackle cost of living, says IMF Economics Governments across the world should prioritise targeted welfare support for low income households over broader measures like tax cuts to ease the cost of living, the International Monetary Fund has said. Policymakers should do more to protect vulnerable households from surges in inflation caused by geopolitical events like the Iran war, the IMF says in [...]
Morrisons pledges to slash prices as price war intensifies August 24, 2026 Morrisons has pledged to match prices with its rivals on hundreds of products, as the debt-ridden grocer ramps up an emerging price war between UK supermarkets. The private-equity-owned supermarket has vowed that 500 of its “everyday essentials” will not be found cheaper at any of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi or Lidl. Britain’s supermarkets are fighting [...]
Inflation leaps to 2.9 per cent in blow to Burnham August 19, 2026 Inflation has leaped up following the reset of the energy price cap, official data has revealed, marking the likely beginning of a long run of increases in price growth. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the consumer price index inflation reading at 2.9 per cent for the 12 months to July. The previous inflation [...]
Burnham takes on ‘rip-off’ discounts and subscriptions in cost of living push August 10, 2026 Andy Burnham has vowed to outlaw fake discounts and crack down on stealth subscriptions as he pledges to deliver “breathing room” on the cost of living. The Prime Minister has proposed to ban businesses from advertising “rip-off” discounts and said he will accelerate existing plans to make subscriptions easier to cancel. These two pledges come [...]
Healey faces £24bn spending squeeze as inflation puts tax rises in play July 29, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is facing a £24bn real terms squeeze on the public purse due to higher inflation and will be forced to hike takes to fund the government’s spending plans, a top think tank has warned. Price growth will peak at 3.8 per cent early next year before a slow return to the Bank [...]
‘False dawn’: June inflation falls to 2.6 per cent but analysts say rises ahead July 22, 2026 Inflation remained stuck above the Bank of England’s target rate despite government promises to tackle the cost of living. The Office for National Statistics said consumer price index (CPI) inflation was 2.6 per cent in the year to June. Analysts predicted the price growth reading to be 2.7 per cent, lower than the 2.8 per [...]
Tax rises ‘guaranteed’ as Healey faces £22bn black hole from Burnham spending plans July 22, 2026 Chancellor John Healey will be forced to launch another round of major tax rises in the autumn, leading economists have warned, after a City AM analysis found £22bn of spending pledges are not accounted for in official forecasts. Less than 24 hours after becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has already announced plans to end rough [...]
Unfunded Digital ID will not free up new cash for Burnham’s cost of living plans July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham is facing criticism from his own backbenches after claiming he would fund his cost of living plans by scrapping Labour’s digital ID scheme – despite the policy being unfunded at the last budget. In his first major policy announcement as prime minister, Burnham revealed today he would remove VAT from domestic electricity bills [...]