Chancellor confirms date of Budget

Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, has confirmed that his first Budget will take place on Wednesday 28th October.

Announcing the Budget date in a short video, Healey promised to move money “out of Westminster, and into every postcode around Britain” while remaining grounded in the fiscal rules established by his predecessor.

Among the announcements expected to come in the Autumn Budget in less than three months time are further details on proposals announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham that would give local leaders greater control of public spending, as well as a roadmap on how a share of business rates and income tax receipts would be retained by regional Mayors to reinvest in their local economies.

Other announced plans that will be given greater detail in October include the scrapping of the 5% rate of VAT on domestic electricity bills, cuts for business rates for pubs, and a reduction in bus fares across England back to £2 in line with the cap in Greater Manchester.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also previously stated his government would stick to the Labour Party’s 2024 election manifesto commitments that rule out increases to income tax, VAT and National Insurance Contributions.

Among other possible inclusions for the upcoming Budget, during his time as Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham has backed investment in a new rail route between Manchester and Birmingham to replace the scrapped Northern leg of HS2. Chancellor John Healey, meanwhile, has also previously called for defence spending to increase to 3% of GDP by 2030, an issue which led to his resignation as Defence Secretary under Sir Keir Starmer.