Healey's Budget Spoiled by 'Grim' Living Standards Squeeze
The watchdog said living standards will barely grow for years as higher energy prices and taxes squeeze households and force spending cuts.
- On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Chancellor John Healey delivered his first Budget, introducing a £100 energy bill reduction for 20 million homes and a 3.9 per cent minimum wage increase following consultations with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis.
- Healey warned the nation faces "real challenges ahead" and "global economic storms" as experts predicted a "challenging" Budget after inflation reached a five-month high in August, leaving households facing financial strain.
- The Office for Budget Responsibility slashed next year's GDP growth forecast to 1 per cent, anticipating "no growth" in real earnings in 2027 and 2028, warning of a dismal outlook for household disposable income.
- Criticizing the measures for failing to boost growth, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned higher property taxes could increase rents, while opposition parties condemned Healey for postponing defence spending increases.
- Major departmental spending cuts loom as Chancellor Healey warned the UK faces more "hard decisions" about spending priorities; departments must reduce capital budgets by 1 per cent to raise funds for next year's spending review.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Healey's Budget spoiled by 'grim' living standards squeeze
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 [...]
The Treasury's OBR watchdog ugly bare the challenges facing Britons over the coming years in its forecasts accompanying the Budget.
Martin Lewis explains what John Healey told him ahead of today's Budget - full list of updates
Martin Lewis explains what John Healey told him ahead of today's Budget - full list of updates . Martin Lewis walked into Number 11 Downing Street on Budget morning and walked out with confirmation of a policy he has fought for over many years
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