Healey Avoids Bond Market Backlash with ‘Placeholder Budget’

John Healey dodged the big issues facing Britain in a Budget lacking ambition - analysis by Christopher Hope

"It is what it is," a senior Treasury minister told me in the hours after John Healey had unveiled the Labour Government's third Budget of this Parliament. And he was right. This was a Budget which few will write home about in the coming months.There were plenty of tweaks to tax and spend without any single measure which will be used to define it. There were nearly 100 policies announced - but experts on the Politico website calculated that they…

Healey avoids bond market backlash with ‘placeholder Budget’

John Healey has managed to avoid punishment at the hands of the bond market through a “placeholder Budget” that delayed big decisions on defence and welfare and left questions hanging over the government’s future spending plans. The Chancellor announced a raft of cost of living measures as part of his fiscal statement, funded by taxes on banks, savers and landlords. Andrew Wishart, senior UK economist at Berenberg, said it was a “placeholder Bud…

UK Budget 2026: Boring John Healey succeeds in making UK Budget low key - and not annoying too many people

Although dull, the Chancellor’s statement will likely have achieved what it intended by not annoying too many people

FTSE 100 edges higher as UK Budget steadies bond markets but housebuilders slump

London stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors assessed Chancellor John Healey’s first Autumn Budget, with the FTSE 100 edging higher despite sharp losses among housebuilders and pharmaceutical stocks, whileRead More...