Budget 2026: What MPs, union leaders and think tanks want to see from Healey

John Healey is just one day away from delivering his first Budget as Chancellor, facing competing challenges and pressures, from defence spending to tackling rising energy bills.

Ahead of his address to Parliament tomorrow, MPs, trade union leaders and think tanks have set out their priorities, ranging from action on tackling the cost of living to investment to deliver on promises of reindustrialisation.

‘Start treating rural areas as strategic assets’

James Naish, MP for Rushcliffe and chair of the Labour Rural Research Group, said the Budget is an opportunity for the government to “start treating rural areas as strategic assets, rather than places that simply need support”.

He said: “Rural England generated £259 billion in gross value added in 2023, yet productivity in majority rural local authorities is only around 92 percent of the England average. Closing even part of that gap would be a real boost to national growth.”

Naish said he would also want to see action on water resilience, a dedicated affordable house programme in rural areas, backing for community transport, and short-term help with fertiliser, fuel and heating costs.

“Lots of these barriers are interconnected, and tackling them together could unlock a substantial contribution to growth. This Budget is a great chance to start that process.”

‘Back British business’

Andy MacNae, MP for Rossendale and Darwen and chair of the Reindustrialisation Research Group, said that the Budget is Andy Burnham’s chance to make his bold vision for reindustralising Britain into reality in the longer-term.

“The government must back British business through patriotic procurement, access to finance, permanently lower energy costs and a trade policy that stands up for British industry in an era of state-backed competition.

“In the immediate term, manufacturers cannot continue to shoulder energy costs far higher than their competitors overseas.

“Expanding the British Industry Competitiveness Scheme would provide the support businesses need now, finally putting an end to the deindustrialisation that is still taking place.”

‘This Budget must be a turning point’

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called for immediate cost of living measures to be included in John Healey’s first Budget tomorrow.

Writing for The Mirror, Graham said that, if Burnham hopes to win back the working class, there were two policies he could implement: ending the tax threshold freeze and cap energy company profits to cut bills.

In the longer-term, she called for a boost to public investment by one percent of GDP to roll back 40 years of decline.

She said: “Pandering to the ‘free market’, to the super-rich and profiteers, has hit the working-class in the pocket, and robbed them of the aspiration of a better future. This Budget must be a turning point. It’s time to take a different path.

“It’s time to stop reaching for the lever of the working-class pocket. Who pays in the Burnham Budget? We shall see.”

‘Implement changes to economy unseen since 1945’

General secretary of Unison Andrea Egan said that the “time for talking is over” – and that Burnham’s shift away from neoliberalism must start with the Budget.

Writing for The Guardian, Egan said: “To measure up to his own ambitions, the party will have to implement changes to the structure of our economy unseen since the postwar period.”

For Egan, this would include bringing sectors of the economy back into public ownership and reinvesting in public services, infrastructure and collective life to “rebuild a social fabric”.

Become a friend of LabourList and join our community. Our friends support our vital non-factional work and get access to exclusive content and events. 

She also called on the Chancellor to “finally [make] the wealthy few pay their far share of tax”, as well as “defy pressure from the business lobby and rightwing media to reject changes, such as equalising income and capital gains tax”.

“The Budget must be the moment that the Prime Minister’s programme starts to match his rhetoric. We’re not expecting neoliberalism to have melted away by the time John Healey finishes reading out his statement, but we are demanding serious measures that actually begin to improve workers’ lives.

“There’s no dodging a battle with the vested interests committed to keeping things as they are – and the Budget is the place to begin.”

‘Growing the economy can’t wait’

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has urged the Chancellor to focus his efforts on bringing household bills down and getting the economy growing.

The progressive think tank suggested a raft of policies, including reform of capital gains tax, introducing an online sales tax while cutting high street business rates and taxing bank windfalls, albeit temporarily.

IPPR’s interim associate director for economic policy Carsten Jung said: “The government can do more to support people on the cost of living – and continue to wage a war on bills.

“Stabilising private rents can be done at the same time as boosting home building. Temporarily guaranteeing a £2,000 energy price cap for the first half of next year can help keep interest rates lower. And unfreezing the local housing allowance is crucial to help those most struggling to pay the rents.

“The Chancellor has signalled that he wants a sound, stable and perhaps forgettable Budget. But growing the economy can’t wait. Going further on industrial policy, including by boosting advanced manufacturing and AI, will be crucial for reindustrialising the UK.”

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment– and follow us on TikTok, Bluesky, WhatsApp, X and Facebook. You can also write to our editor to share your thoughts on our stories and share your own. The best letters are published every Sunday.

• • SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
  • SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
  • BECOME A FRIEND: If you enjoyed this, why not consider becoming a Friend of LabourList? Help sustain our journalism, and of course Friends do get benefits…
  • PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
  • ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].