Healey Budget: Chancellor Confirms 28 October Date

Healey said the statement would "move money and power out of Westminster, and into every postcode around Britain", adding that it would be "built on fiscal discipline" and "meet our fiscal rules". His intervention comes amid pressure over Prime Minister Andy Burnham's recent cost-of-living pledges, which include scrapping VAT on domestic electricity bills and capping bus fares in England.

Healey Budget built on 'fiscal discipline'

According to a report in The Times, Healey and Burnham have written a joint letter to Cabinet members telling them they must fund any new pledges from within the budgets they already hold. Treasury sources said the government remained determined to stay "well within the fiscal rules" inherited from Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, even as the war in Iran pushes up inflation and borrowing costs. The Times dubbed Healey the "iron chancellor", as the BBC reported.

This will be a Budget that moves money and power out of Westminster, and into every postcode around Britain. It will be built on fiscal discipline. It will meet our fiscal rules.

John Healey, Chancellor

With the date now fixed, attention turns to how the Chancellor will balance Burnham's spending commitments against the fiscal rules. For households weighing the impact, our guide to what the new government means for your payslip sets out what could change on 28 October.