In his first Budget, the first since Andy Burnham became prime minister, UK Chancellor John Healey announced a £100 payment for 20 million households in council tax bands A-D in England, removal of standing charges from household gas bills, and a 3.9% rise in the legal minimum wage. BBC News
BBC NewsBudget 2026: Key points from John Healey’s speechHere’s what you need to know from John Healey’s first Budget, as the chancellor sets out the government’s tax and spending plans.
Do one-off payments and extended tax cuts do much for energy bills compared with changing how the bills themselves are structured?
Update: The Treasury select committee chair, Meg Hillier, has written to the Treasury and the FCA asking whether a story leaked to Bloomberg more than an hour before the Budget statement, which moved bank share prices, amounted to an "improper release of inside information". The Guardian
the GuardianJohn Healey faces questions over budget leak that moved bank share pricesTreasury select committee asks FCA to investigate whether tax surcharge leak led to ‘improper release of inside information’
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