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ARTICLE · 29 OCTOBER 2026

The Autumn Budget 2026

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John Healey's first Budget as Chancellor delivers limited tax reforms and targeted cost-of-living support while navigating challenging fiscal constraints. With growth forecasts revised downward and borrowing costs rising, the Budget focuses on maintaining fiscal credibility through modest measures rather than radical change.

United KingdomTax
David Gauke
David Gauke
Nicholas Harries
Nicholas Harries
Mark Hunter
Mark Hunter
Paul Hardwick
Paul Hardwick
Gregory Price
Gregory Price
Clare Wilson
Clare Wilson
Rhiannon Kinghall Were
Rhiannon Kinghall Were
Robin Vos
Robin Vos
Milly Walker
Milly Walker
+5 more

John Healey’s first Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer was briefed as being a low-key affair, with little by the way of tax reform.

And so it proved. The ambitions for this Budget were to provide some targeted cost-of-living support to those most under pressure, reassure the bond markets of the Government’s fiscal credibility, and pursue measures that help the economy to grow. Given that these objectives can be in tension, the measures announced by Healey were limited and small scale. Andy Burnham’s rhetoric of earlier in the year of radical change was not matched by the measures set out in the Budget.

The fiscal backdrop was challenging. Events in the Middle East have had a detrimental impact on economic growth and the public finances. More specifically, the cost of Government borrowing has increased by £14bn for this financial year. Growth in 2026/27 is forecast to be higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) previously predicted (1.2% rather than 1.1%) but is now

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