Voters expect ‘no difference’ to UK economy after Healey’s modest Budget Economics John Healey’s Budget will make “no difference” to the UK economy, voters have said, as concerns over stealth taxes and defence spending overshadowed a series of giveaways in the Chancellor’s maiden fiscal statement. Polling by City AM/Freshwater Strategy showed that about half of voters expected the Budget to make “no difference” to Britain’s economic fortunes. [...]
Healey’s Budget spoiled by ‘grim’ living standards squeeze Politics 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 [...]
Housebuilding to fall for three years as red tape scuppers Labour’s new homes push Property The UK’s progress towards its ambitious housebuilding target has been dealt another blow after the fiscal watchdog said housing output is set to slow for another three years. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said housing delivery will fall to 229,000 this year, to 221,000 the following year and to 219,000 in the year 2027-28. [...]
‘Pretty bold’: Burnham jumps to defend Healey’s Budget October 28, 2026 Andy Burnham has jumped to the defence of John Healey’s first Budget, claiming it was “pretty bold” and looked to “help everybody”. The Prime Minister said on Wednesday afternoon that the Chancellor delivered on support to British households and businesses. He told broadcasters: “It’s pretty bold to help 20m households with their energy costs through [...]
Labour workers’ rights overhaul to inflict ‘negative’ hit on economy, OBR says October 28, 2026 Britain’s fiscal watchdog has warned Labour’s overhaul of workers’ rights will have a “negative economic impact” as the cost to businesses will far outstrip any boost to workers’ productivity. The government’s sweeping employment reforms in its landmark Employment Rights Act (ERA) have reduced the qualifying period for unfair dismissal to six months, removed the compensation [...]
Budget 2026: Healey faces ‘£11bn hole’ as growth slashed and inflation to rise higher October 28, 2026 Britain’s fiscal watchdog has predicted that growth will slump and joblessness and inflation will surge in the coming years, as they warned John Healey will have to find billions of pounds more revenue between 2029 and 2032 in order to prevent cuts to government spending. The Office for Budget Responsibility said the Chancellor would need [...]
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 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 [...]
PHP cyber threat rocks internet as government and companies scramble to fend off attacks October 22, 2026 A cyber threat identified by tech researchers has left government bodies and multinationals as large as Amazon scrambling to build defences and stop hundreds of hacking attacks. The UK government announced that dozens of services had gone offline as a precautionary measure to fend off cyber threats exposed by vulnerabilities in programming languages. The Office [...]
Healey’s fiscal ‘dilemma’ ahead of the Budget October 21, 2026 Forecasters sitting in a small office at the top of the Ministry of Justice building have had their work cut out this week. A week from the Budget, the headquarters for the Office for Budget Responsibility, the independent fiscal watchdog, is likely to be buzzing with staff members double-checking details and estimates in its crucial [...]