What was in John Healey’s Budget?

John Healey has just sat down after delivering his first budget. The budget showed some progress on the priorities set out by Andy Burnham at the start of his premiership including additional funding for tackling homelessness and on devolution. 

Headroom and predictions

• The OBR predicts growth of 1.2 percent this year, 1 perceb next year, 1.6 percent in 2028 and 1.8 percent in 2029.
• The fiscal headroom is going down to £15 billion, but the Chancellor expects it to rise again in future years. 

Here are the key policies: 

Cost of living and energy

• National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increased to 3.9 percent
• £100 to anyone in Council Tax bands A-D to help with energy bills. 
• VAT cut to fuel bills extended to July. 
• Warm Homes Discount will be extended to families on benefits giving them £100 off their energy bills.
• Standing charges on gas bills will be scraped and the link between gas and electricity charges will be broken in the long term. 
• Green levies will be removed from household bills in the long term with green projects funded directly by the goverment
• The freeze in fuel duty, which was due to be scrapped in January,  will be extended to July.
• Renewables moved onto fixed price contracts. 

High Streets and housing

• Small Business Rate Relief raised from £12,000 to £18,000 for retail and hospitality with Adult Gaming Centres exempted. This will take 70,000 high street businesses out of business rates. 
• A new scheme to help people by their first home will offer 20 percent equity loans with a minimum downpayment of just 2.5 percent.

Tax changes on banks and online retailers

• The banking surcharge will be restored to 8 percent having been cut to 3 percent by Jeremy Hunt which is expected to raise £2 billion.
• Online retailers will be responsible for collecting tax from anyone selling on their platforms. This is expected to raise enough to cover the measures to help high street retailers.
• Machine Games Duty on gambling machines raised from 20 percent to 20 percent

Pensioners, carers and women

• The tax free allowance will be matched with the value of the state pension to ensure they don’t pay tax on the state pension.
• Self employed fathers and partners eligible for paid parental leave from day one. 
• A new misogyny prevention unit. 

Defence and Industrial Policy

• £10 billion to Ukraine in loans and export finance guarantees.
• Details on how to get to 3 percent of GDP by 2030 and 3.5 percent overall to be seat out in the Spending Review next year
• Defence finance task force launched
• Treaty negotiations to be launched with Finland, Poland and The Netherlands to collaborate on defence procurement
• A new British Data Centre Covenant with strict tests that data centres must meet: To invest in local communities, create local jobs and protect local water supplies. 
• In return, critical data centres will get the grid connections they need and be allowed to build onsite generation while they wait if necessary. 

 Devolution

• 20 percent of business rates will go to mayors for them to spend in their areas now rising to 100 percent by 2030. 
• From 2028 mayors will also receive a portion of income tax.
• Mayors will have the power to introduce a visitors levy.
  

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].