Revealed: The luxury London pads getting Healey’s energy handout – while poorer areas miss out Property John Healey’s energy bills support package was meant to be targeted. But a City AM analysis has found homes worth millions are in line for a handout, while others in poorer areas will get nothing. John Healey’s maiden fiscal event was nothing if not targeted. Painful tax rises – be they on banks or gambling [...]
Burnham’s former economic adviser gives Budget a four out of 10 Earnings One of Andy Burnham’s former economic advisers has given John Healey’s Budget a four out of 10, warning there remained a 50 per cent chance the UK economy will be in worse shape next year than it is now. Andy Haldane, who for years served as chief economist at the Bank of England, told the [...]
Healey’s business rate tweaks won’t stop ‘hollowing out’ high street, business group warns Retail John Healey’s changes to high street business rates are a “sticking plaster” that will not reverse the “hollowing out” of town centres across the country, the boss of Britain’s largest business group has warned. In his maiden Budget this week, the Chancellor said he would lift the threshold at which small firms receive business rates [...]
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 [...]
UK Finance chief: Labour must keep its promise that the bank tax is temporary October 29, 2026 Taxes introduced in response to temporary pressures have a habit of outlasting them. Labour must keep its promise on the bank tax, writes David Postings.
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 [...]
This Budget ignored all of Britain’s biggest problems October 29, 2026 The benefits bill, the lack of growth, our inadequate defence programme: the Budget had nothing to offer for Britain's biggest issues.
Healey’s self-assessment tax shakeup could lead to ‘brutal cash crunch’ for self-employed October 29, 2026 Chancellor John Healey’s decision to overhaul the self-assessment tax system has sparked concerns among tax advisers, as they question whether this will harm Britain’s self-employed. Healey confirmed in his maiden Autumn Budget that the government will change how income tax self-assessment (ITSA) taxpayers make their Payments on Accounts. Payments on Account are advance payments made [...]
Healey’s ‘bizarre’ pension tax shield to hit thousands of retirees with 53 per cent tax rate October 29, 2026 Hundreds of thousands of low-income pensioners are set to pay an effective 53 per cent tax rate on part of their retirement income, under new rules introduced by John Healey in his maiden Budget. The Chancellor confirmed he will shield low-income pensioners from income tax as the state pension is set to rise above the [...]
Healey under fire on spending plans as UK faces ‘worst decade for living standards on record’ October 29, 2026 John Healey is facing intense scrutiny over his plans to tighten public spending around 2030, as leading economists warned the Labour government is on course to revive an austerity programme while overseeing the worst decade of living standards on record. Budget-crunchers at two leading economics think tanks have offered scathing assessments on the state of [...]