Millions of young adults are being locked out of opportunity because the system is failing them.

Financial inclusion affects whether a young person can get to work, afford to study, recover from a financial shock or plan confidently for their future. It is clear to me that for too many young people, the financial system is not a ladder to opportunity – it is a locked door.

Facing financial exclusion means being unable to access affordable credit, insurance, savings products or trusted financial guidance. It means being penalised not because you have made bad decisions, but because you have not yet had the opportunity to build a financial track record.

That challenge is particularly acute for young adults. Fair4All Finance has identified nearly two million ‘Unsteady Starters’ in financially vulnerable circumstances across the UK: many face insecure work, rising living costs, limited savings and mounting financial pressures.

What struck me most in preparing for the debate was how often young people are disadvantaged even when they do everything right.

Take Efe, a 20-year-old accounting and finance student. He paid around £1,500 for driving lessons so that he could access work and training commitments, passed his driving test and expected to be added to his mother’s car insurance policy. Instead, he was repeatedly refused. Insurers told him he was too inexperienced or that the family vehicle was unsuitable. After making every sensible decision, he found himself unable to get behind the wheel.

Efe’s story is not unique. Across large parts of the country, particularly in rural and semi-rural communities like those I represent in Hertford and Stortford, driving is the difference between being able to access employment, education and training or being left behind.

There are now around one million young people classified as not in education, employment or training, or NEET. If we are serious about tackling that crisis, we cannot ignore the practical barriers preventing young people from accessing opportunity.

Research suggests that millions of young people are effectively prevented from driving because of the prohibitive costs they face. For many, the real obstacle is not the driving test itself, rather the insurance premiums that place driving beyond reach. That limits access to apprenticeships, jobs, further education and training opportunities.

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This kind of barrier has consequences on the economy more widely. If we want to boost labour market participation and connect young people with opportunity, we need to work with regulators and industry to ensure the market is functioning fairly. Reforming barriers to affordable insurance could play a meaningful role in reducing inactivity.

Many young people also struggle because they have what is known as a ‘thin credit file’. They may pay rent on time. They may keep up with mobile phone bills. They may manage their finances responsibly. Yet because they lack a traditional credit history, they can still find themselves excluded from mainstream financial products.

At the same time, a generation entering adulthood faces unprecedented financial pressures. Higher housing costs, insecure employment and stagnant financial resilience mean many young adults have little capacity to absorb unexpected shocks. Financial stress and poor mental health often go hand in hand, creating a vicious cycle that can become entrenched early in life.

That is why financial inclusion should not be seen as a niche policy area. It should sit alongside Labour’s wider ambitions for opportunity, growth, social mobility and wellbeing. Research has shown that improvements in financial inclusion could deliver £6.4 billion in additional GDP for the UK economy per year.

The Labour government has already developed a national Financial Inclusion Strategy, but there is a particular case for focusing on the critical 16-to-24 transition period, when young people are making major financial decisions for the first time.

If we want a country where hard work is rewarded and opportunity is genuinely open to all, we must ensure that young people are not excluded from the financial system that underpins modern life.

Because the truth is that young people like Efe are doing everything society asks of them. They are working hard and investing in their future. The question is whether our financial system is prepared to do its part too. The answer to that question will shape not only their future, but the country’s as well.

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The post ‘Young people are doing everything right – so why are we shutting them out?’ appeared first on LabourList.

Who is the perfect guest to help the LabourList team dissect the politics and economics of the budget? Well how about an MP who used to be an ecomonist?

This month the team sat down with Loughborough MP and economist Dr Jeevun Sandher MP to discuss the Autumn Budget, and what it means for the government, the party and the country.  It was a fascinating conversation ranging from comparisons with the Blair Brown years to the results of snap polling.

And Friends of LabourList get an extra 15 minutes of content so if you like what you see and want to support us to make even more Become a friend of LabourList!

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Polling conducted by Survation found that almost nine in ten (89 percent) of party members supported John Healey’s first Budget as Chancellor, with only three percent opposed – with similar levels of support recorded for many individual measures outlined on Wednesday.

The temporary increase in the corporation tax surcharge on the banking sector to fund efforts to cut energy bills was the most popular policy among the Labour membership, with 92 percent support, closely followed by plans to scrap gas standing charges (91 percent).

The £100 household energy relief payment, set to be given to 20 million households this winter, received the backing of some 84 percent of Labour members, with only seven percent opposed.

Members were split almost evenly on whether the government should approve the controversial Rosebank oil field, after the Budget’s tax revenue forecasts assumed extraction would be approved.

Some 43 percent of Labour members polled said they would support Rosebank being given the green light, while 41 percent were opposed.

Opposition was strongest among members who backed Rebecca Long Bailey as party leader in 2020, with 66 percent of her backers against any move to approve Rosebank.

A plurality of those who supported Lucy Powell as deputy leader were also against the move (49 percent to 38 percent), while those who backed Bridget Phillipson were comfortably in favour of approving Rosebank (54 percent to 28 percent).

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Over half (53 percent) of members said Healey’s first Budget would give Labour a better chance of winning the next general election, with just four percent believing it worsened Labour’s chances and around a third (35 percent) telling pollsters it would make no difference.

However, Labour members are clear that they do not want to see Andy Burnham rush into calling a general election, with more than three-quarters (78 percent) of the view that the Prime Minister should not call an election within the next year, compared with just 14 percent in favour.

Burnham has repeatedly ruled out calling an early election, telling broadcasters shortly after the Budget: “I don’t know how many times I’ve done this now, but yes, I can rule out calling a general election in the next 12 months.

“I’m not thinking about myself. I’m not thinking about my own party and its prospects.

“We’ve got a 10-year plan to come, and that will inform the spending review next year. These are my priorities, not looking at our own internal party political advantage.”

Emma Burnell, editor of LabourList, said: “Labour members remain happy with what Labour is doing in government. While there are some issues on the horizon – particularly Rosebank – that divide the party, the direction the government has taken has brought the party back together.

“However, Labour members might be happy with the way things are going, but not to the extent they want to gamble it all on an early election. More of them believe this Budget would help when an election comes, but see it as a down payment for more work to be done by Burnham over the coming year.”

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Survation, a member of the British Polling Council and a Market Research Society Partner, surveyed 876 readers of LabourList who said they were Labour Party members between October 28 and 29.

Data was weighted to the profile of party members by age, sex, region and 2025 deputy leadership vote. Targets for weighting were drawn from the British Election Study and the results of the leadership and deputy leadership elections.

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While commentators picked apart John Healey’s first Budget, there was plenty in it to make a tangible difference to people’s lives.

Here are the seven most exciting breakthroughs and announcements this week that you can use, whether you’re on the doorstep, sparring on social media, or debating in the pub.

1. Scrapping gas standing charges

Labour is abolishing the fixed daily fee on household gas bills.

Around 23 million homes pay it whether they use any gas or not, typically at a cost of around £108 a year. Its cost will move onto the price of each unit of gas instead, so households that use less will pay less.

Around 60 percent of households are expected to save an average of £45 a year. Labour has asked Ofgem to make the change, with the aim of implementing it by the end of 2027, and will set out extra help for the small number of households who’d otherwise pay more.

2. Minimum wage rises to £13.21

Labour is boosting pay for the lowest-paid workers in the country.

From April 2027, the National Living Wage for over-21s goes up by 3.9 percent. That’s worth around £975 a year to someone working full time.

Around 2.3 million workers are expected to benefit, and the rise is forecast to outpace inflation. The rate for 18-to-20-year-olds also rises to £11.27.

3. Doubling funding to end rough sleeping

Labour has promised everyone sleeping rough will have a route off the streets for the rest of this Parliament.

An extra £432 million takes the total to £874 million. It builds on the £442 million announced in the summer to make sure everyone sleeping rough is offered a route off the streets by Christmas, while keeping support going beyond March 2027.

The government has also secured pledges from businesses and charities at the first ever Rough Sleeping Summit in Downing Street, including at least 2,000 homes and bedspaces from housing associations.

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4. Ending the Carer’s Allowance cliff edge

Labour has pledged to fix a trap that leaves people looking after loved ones worse off for earning more.

Right now, anyone earning even a penny over the weekly limit loses their entire allowance. Under the change, support will be reduced by £1 for every extra £1 earned, which should also cut the overpayments that have plunged carers into debt.

Separately, paternity pay will be extended to more than 150,000 extra parents a year, including self-employed dads.

5. Banning vape sales to children

Labour has closed the loopholes that allowed shops to sell nicotine pouches to kids.

Selling nicotine vapes to under-18s was already illegal. As of this week, under the Tobacco and Vapes Act, nicotine-free vapes and products like nicotine pouches, strips, and pearls can’t be sold to them either.

For the first time, adults also commit an offence if they buy these products for someone under 18. Free giveaways, big discounts, and vending machine sales of these products are banned too.

6. Record magistrate recruitment

Labour has brought in thousands of new volunteers to hear cases in local courts.

More than 3,800 magistrates have been recruited since the election. Almost 1,500 joined in the first six months of this year, nearly double the number who joined in the same period last year.

Alongside this, a £4 million TV and social media campaign aims to increase the number of magistrates to 21,000 by 2028, so more cases get heard and victims wait less time for justice.

7. Cheaper EV charging on residential streets

Labour is slashing the price of topping up an electric car for drivers without a driveway.

Around a third of households have no off-street parking, so they rely on public chargers. Prices at slower chargers, the kind found on residential streets, have risen 69% in real terms since 2021. From spring 2027, £100 million over two years will be used to bring those prices down, saving drivers who use them around £150 a year.

Separately, drivers no longer need planning permission to run a charging cable under the pavement from their home to their car.

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This outcome was entirely predictable at the time. Most municipal bus services across the country were cheap, frequent and reliable. Indeed, some councils were about to take things further. The Labour council in Sheffield was on the cusp of stealing a 40 year march on Zohran Mamdani by making its bus network entirely free.

Instead, privatisation reached its logical conclusion on Oxford Road in Manchester, once proudly touted as the busiest bus corridor in Europe – but for questionable reasons. A handful of private companies competed to offer bus rides along one road into the city, causing gridlock, and leaving swathes of Manchester unserved and isolated. The competition didn’t drive down fares, and it didn’t make for a regular or reliable service. It is no coincidence that the fight back against privatised buses began here.

It is painful to look back on what could have been, especially as we live among the ruins of the public transport networks that Thatcher and the private operators have left us.

READ MORE: Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander addresses party conference – her speech in full

But the tide is turning. No one, save the most extreme denizens of Tufton Street, would seriously argue today that a privately run bus network makes sense. There is a reason that not even US cities allow the free market to control their bus networks.

After the Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign successfully lobbied then-Mayor Andy Burnham to implement public control, a cascade of grassroots passenger campaigns have formed to do the same in their regions. Merseyside has just implemented bus franchising. The Better Buses for West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire campaigns have pushed their mayors to do the same.

Just this month, Better Buses campaigns across Scotland have scored a huge victory in John Swinney’s surprise announcement that bus franchising will be delivered across Scotland by 2031. Perhaps most importantly, the Labour government in Wales, before it was ousted this May, passed a Bus Services Act rolling out public control across the nation by 2030 – leaving no gaps, and requiring no frustrating individual business cases in each council area to justify what bus riders want.

The whole country, it seems, now agrees that public services should not have to justify themselves through private profit. And yet that is exactly what public control – through franchising – still does. By offering management contracts to private operators, services still need to justify themselves on commercial viability.

That is why the National Coalition of Better Buses campaigns are calling on Andy Burnham to finish the job, and repeal Thatcher’s bus de-regulation policy altogether. By ending the free market in bus services, we can move towards full public, municipal ownership of bus services – with local areas having full control of the market, and offering a publicly owned service that can reinvest every penny of profit into local bus services.

But for public control or public ownership to be worthy of the name, we need to put passengers at the heart of decision making. To do that, devolution has got to change.

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The current devolution set-up, of which the Prime Minister is a product, is deeply untransparent, and difficult for citizens to access. Unlike the London Assembly, there are no directly elected representatives to hold Mayors to account, just a Board of councillors who already have their own responsibilities.

Yet unlike local councils, there is no obligation on Mayoral Combined Authorities to allow public questions or deputations to directly scrutinise mayoral decisions. In law, mayors have an effective veto on any policy before the Combined Authority. Opposition motions are not possible.

In places like West Yorkshire, this has led to decisions around bus services being made about passengers, but not with passengers. Often our demands have been ignored – because it is easy to ignore someone when they have no access to the halls of power.

The Scottish government is currently consulting on its own devolution settlement. If they learn from the mistakes of England’s hastily cobbled together, Osborne-era devolution framework, we could see huge strides for the empowerment of bus riders and local communities everywhere. We believe that Andy Burnham would see the virtue of this as he moves English devolution forward.

The Prime Minister understands devolution like no other prime minister before him. A truly transformational transport policy by this government would include full public ownership of our buses, and a new devolution settlement that puts local citizens’ voices at the heart of decisions about their bus services.

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When Burnham surprised both groups by choosing the man known as ‘a safe pair of hands’ it sent a different signal – one that was reinforced by all the pre-Budget briefing – that the Burnham project was going to take time to get under the hood and make the kind of changes to the economy that the PM spoke of before taking office.

Given that, and given the uncertain state of the world and the precarity of the nation’s finances, it had become clear that this Budget was not going to be the way the government would set out how it intends to make big change. It was a ‘breathing space’ Budget for citizens, for the markets and for the government itself. 

READ MORE: What was in John Healey’s Budget?

Polling undertaken for 38 Degrees by Survation and shared exclusively with LabourList showed that voters’ immediate response was broadly, if nervously, positive. Those polled liked the measures to help with energy bills but were still concerned that the cost of living will remain too high. 

The market too responded calmly to the Budget. And while, like many LabourList readers, I would prefer that a Labour government were less in hock to the bond markets, the levels of debt we inherited and the cost of servicing that debt, means that we cannot ignore the mood of our lenders. To be less reliant on the whims of the market, we have to find ways for them to have less power over our economy. That means reshaping the levels and form of government debt – something that cannot and should not be done in one Budget, or the reaction would lead to Liz Truss levels of madness.

There remain relatively high levels of goodwill for Burnham in the country and high levels of support for the PM within the Party (LabourList will be reporting soon on our exclusive polling of Party members’ response to the Budget to see if that has changed). It is my sense that this Budget has not done much to change that. There were no measures that would break the narrative of either Labour’s supporters or their opponents. That sense has been reinforced for me by listening to opposition politicians saying exactly what I expected them to say before Healey had stood up yesterday. No narratives were changed in the delivery of this Budget.

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This Budget has given the government breathing space. Now they must use it to start the journey to the kind of changes we all need to see.

Far bigger than the Budget will be the PM’s ten-year plan. There is no space in this promised document for small ideas. A ten year plan for a country that has felt so broken for so long must, by its nature, be ambitious. Yes, you can set out a step-by-step approach that will allow for realism rather than revolution. But the destination must be ambitious, achievable and something on which we can all measure progress as we approach it.

Breathing space is only ever something people need or want temporarily. When you take a ‘time out’ it is to give yourself a moment to catch your breath, ready to fight harder to win the real gains.

The six months after the Budget will be that moment. In it will come the ten-year plan, the Milburn review and the spending review. John Healey gave us all space to prepare the ground for these and ready ourselves for the fights to come. Now it is the job of every Labour MP, every Labour member to use it wisely. 

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The post A breathing space Budget appeared first on LabourList.

A qualitative panel of more than 700 people for 38 Degrees, conducted immediately after the Budget by Survation, found that voters thought the Budget moved the country in a fairer direction, but that the government isn’t moving fast enough to deal with the cost of living crisis.

Measures addressing the cost of energy bills dominated responses from those surveyed, with support for plans to tax banks to help fund energy assistance.

However, respondents repeatedly called for greater action to help households struggling with the cost of living.

Energy payment will ‘take some of the pressure off’

Energy support was the issue most frequently raised by respondents, with the £100 energy relief payment being the most well-received measure of the Budget, although some said it did not go far enough.

Some welcomed the assistance as a practical way to ease pressure on household finances.

One respondent from the North West said the money would help go towards his children’s Christmas presents, while another respondent from the South West said the measure would “take some of the pressure off”.

However, others argued that the support was insufficient against the scale of rising energy bills.

“It does a little bit to help, but £100 going towards energy bills when they are going up far more than that isn’t really helping,” said a Reform voter from the East of England.

“They should be stopping them going up.”

Support from voters for taxing banking sector

The plan to increase taxes on banks to fund energy support was broadly well-supported by respondents, with some arguing that the sector could afford to contribute more.

One Labour voter who owns a business said: “We bailed the banks out; it’s time they pay their fair share.”

A Reform voter from the North West also supported the idea because banks were “making lots of profit”.

However, some expressed concern that the tax increase would ultimately be passed onto customers.

Government urged to move faster

More than two-thirds of those surveyed said the government was not moving fast enough to address the cost of living crisis.

Some acknowledged that Andy Burnham’s government had not been in office long and that ministers were working within the limits of the country’s finances, but others said the urgency of rising costs demanded a faster response.

“People need help right now, not in months to come,” said one Labour voter from Yorkshire.

Another Labour voter from the South West offered a more measured assessment and said: “They could be faster, but they’re getting there.”

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Budget seen as fairer, but opinions on Burnham and Healey split

Most respondents said the Budget had made the country fairer, but some said the changes would make little difference to ordinary people.

One Conservative voter from the South East said the Budget moved the country in a “slightly more fair direction”, but a Labour voter also from the region said the country would not change significantly “until the richest get taxed more and get away with tax avoidance less”.

Opinions on Andy Burnham and John Healey’s leadership were more divided.

Although positive respondents described the Prime Minister and Chancellor as approachable and more in touch with ordinary people, critics questioned whether politicians could be trusted – or even called for a general election.

One Labour voter said: “I’ll still reserve judgement as it’s early days, but it certainly seems promising”, while a Reform voter from the East Midlands said the Labour government “still needed to do more positives to convince me”.

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‘Government has goodwill from voters’

Emma Burnell, editor of LabourList, said: “Voters might think the government is going too slowly, but they clearly think that it is moving in the right direction. That is much preferable to the alternative sense of moving fast in the wrong direction.

“This government has goodwill from the voters who seem to understand the constraints they are under, even if they are frustrated by them. If this was a ‘breathing space’ Budget, the government has given that to themselves as much as to voters.

“But in the 10-year plan and the spending review there will need to be a sense of long-term vision. Voters and Labour members will need reassurance that the competency and reassurance displayed today can also be put to work making the big changes Burnham promised on taking office.”

‘People welcome the help, but most say it’s too little and too late’

Damian Lyons Lowe, founder and chief executive of Survation, said: “Four in five brought up their bills, the £100 payment or the standing charge, and most did so in answers to questions that weren’t about energy at all. 

“People did welcome the help. The £100 payment was the measure they mentioned most, and many felt it was fair to ask the banks to pay for it. But what we heard most was that it’s too little and too late.”

‘More must be done if people are to truly feel better off’

Veronica Hawking, campaign director at 38 Degrees, said: “Every single time voters visit the supermarket or open an energy bill, they are hit by the overwhelming cost of living. It’s therefore no surprise that this is top of voters’ minds and they welcome measures that will ease this a little; like £100 towards bills, ending standing charges and tariffs that cut food prices. 

“But we heard loud and clear from voters that more must be done if people are to truly feel better off. Voters from across the political spectrum want a country that is fairer, and where those who can afford to pay more – from banks, to profiteering energy companies, to the ultra-wealthy – do so.

“Ultimately, the Government must keep its foot on the pedal and keep putting more money back in families’ pockets.  Voters have clearly told us that if they are to be given real ‘breathing space’ from the relentless cost of living crisis, these measures must only be the very start. The message to Andy Burnham and John Healey after their first budget is that if they fearlessly pursue bigger, bolder change that benefits ordinary people, voters will back them to do so.”

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The post Voters welcome Budget energy measures, but demand more action on cost of living appeared first on LabourList.

Culture is what brings communities together and cultivates a shared sense of belonging. It is an engine of social growth, the means through which barriers can be broken down and outdated perceptions can be challenged. Cultural identity is what puts cities on the map, attracting investment, supporting jobs and creating opportunities. It gives people confidence in where they live and optimism about the future – something that many places in the UK urgently need right now.

Milton Keynes’ bid for UK City of Culture 2029 is a powerful example of what this looks like in action. The submission requirements for the bid are thorough and wide-ranging, and the process has encouraged us to see our city with fresh eyes.

Last week we celebrated the news that Milton Keynes has been named one of the four cities on the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2029. The city is, of course, delighted – Milton Keynes has rediscovered the creativity, ambition and optimism that make our city special. Our cultural programme around the bid has awakened a sense of momentum and drive that rings true to our campaign motto: ‘we’re just getting started.’

READ MORE: Goggleboxing clever

More than 2,500 residents have helped shape our bid through 173 workshops, events and conversations. It has been inspiring to see people come together to share and celebrate the creativity, joyful eccentricity and inventive optimism that have always defined Milton Keynes and, together, to develop an understanding of the possibilities that exist for our city. That is why we have committed to championing our creative industries and working alongside local leaders to bring about a better, brighter and culturally richer future.

As Labour embarks on the next generation of New Town development and urban renewal, we must think beyond bricks and mortar to the institutions and activities that create pride, belonging and hope. The Government’s New Towns Programme recognises the importance of community engagement from the outset. Our £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere investment and Creative Industries Sector Plan will ensure that the UK is the number-one destination worldwide for investment in creativity and innovation, and aims to significantly increase investment by 2035. Milton Keynes is already showing what investment can mean in practice, with plans for a new £76 million, 4,000-capacity cultural venue well underway.

Labour’s approach to culture goes beyond funding individual organisations; it recognises the role that culture plays in shaping local identity, strengthening communities and driving regeneration. It understands that when the parts are strong, the whole is stronger – and that the route to a more confident and united Britain starts on the streets of individual cities and towns. This reflects the ideas championed by the Prime Minister in Manchester: the belief that culture, creativity, sport, heritage and civic pride are integral to the success of a place.

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Since taking office, Labour has backed this belief with significant investment in museums, libraries, arts organisations and creative industries, while also placing culture at the heart of wider efforts to restore pride in place and revive town centres and high streets. More than £270 million has been announced for cultural and heritage organisations, alongside dedicated support for creative businesses, grassroots music venues and regional creative clusters.

People feel pride in where they live when they can see their community’s story being told, when historic buildings are brought back into use, when local artists and creatives are supported, and when cultural institutions are visibly thriving.

That is why Labour’s support for culture must be at the core of its mission to restore pride in place. Whether through investment in creative industries, support for local museums and libraries, or the renewal of town centres, the goal is the same: helping communities rediscover confidence in themselves and ensuring that every town and city has the tools to imagine and build a stronger future. 

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Although measures like the £100 energy payment and increasing the threshold for business rates were well-received, some said the Budget was a “missed opportunity” for more radical reform.

‘Taxing banks’ bumper profits to cut energy bills is plain common sense’

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, had long called for an increase in taxes on the banking sector to fund cuts to energy bills – and welcomed the “common sense” measure.

He said: “As Trump’s illegal war in Iran continues to cause havoc with the global economy and drive up costs, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have started to give families and firms much-needed breathing space.

“The TUC has long called for banks to pay their fair share. At a time when millions are struggling to get by, taxing banks’ bumper profits to cut energy bills is plain common sense. The chancellor has made a good start by doubling the bank surcharge – next he should be prepared to extend it and raise it if profits remain sky-high.

“It’s right that the government is boosting investment in some industries through the National Wealth Fund, but ministers should have beefed up support for manufacturers struggling with crippling energy costs.

“Strong public services are the bedrock of a strong economy. To repair the damage of fourteen years of Tory austerity, the government is right to recognise the need for investment right across our public services. But any cuts to departmental capital budgets will be met with real concern.

“Ahead of the Spending Review, it is vital the government engages with public sector unions to map out a way to rebuild public services and support the people delivering them.”

‘Sorely needed breathing space for workers, businesses and communities’

Community general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said that the Budget “follows in the traditions of the labour movement” and provided “the sorely needed breathing space for workers, businesses and communities across our country.”

He said: “Healey has minimised damage to the wallets of working people and continued the path of re-balancing our economy so that all regions and nations benefit from our national prosperity. 

“Community welcomes the impactful measures that the Chancellor has prioritised, such as capping bus fares, removing charges on household energy bills and granting thousands of our members a £100 energy payment this winter. These will give millions of workers much-needed breathing space during a cost-of-living crisis. 

“The extension of Statutory Paternity Pay to 150,000 individuals is particularly welcome to our self-employed members, who Community has long argued require greater social protections in times of need. 

“The Chancellor promised a budget that would provide breathing space. We have seen that budget delivered today.

“We hope that future fiscal statements will build on the good work that has already been delivered by the Government to support our steel industry and drive the reindustrialisation agenda that this Government has championed. This must include decisive action to tackle the UK’s sky-high industrial energy costs.

“What has been announced today will provide the sorely needed breathing space for workers, businesses and communities across our country.

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Budget will ‘help get our country back on track’

Train drivers’ union Aslef said that the measures unveiled by John Healey would “help get our country back on track”.

General secretary Dave Calfe said: “This is a Budget for Britain. We all know that things are not easy at the moment, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer has set out a series of economic measures which will help get our country back on track. John Healey has, like Andy Burnham, offered us a chance to hope again.

“It’s positive to see the Chancellor introduce so many measures to offer people breathing space, tackle the cost of living, and help people out in the hard times we are living through.”

💬 “That’s the kind of thing we look to in a budget that is going to deliver growth for every post code!” 📈

🔴 Labour MP for Calder Valley, Josh Fenton-Glynn shares his thoughts on the budget with LabourList Editor Emma Burnell… https://t.co/3yWshBx9CD

— LabourList (@LabourList) October 28, 2026

‘Missed opportunities in this Budget’

Centre-left organisation Mainstream said the Budget included “welcome steps” with measures that help ease the cost of living crisis, but also said there were “missed opportunities”.

“Taxing banks is a redistributive measure towards a more equal economy, as are higher taxes on landlords.

“However, there are missed opportunities in this Budget – for example, the government could have equalised the rates of income tax and capital gains tax.

“Everyday fixes do not represent a substantive change to an economic system which has made working people poorer, while the rich continue to reap the profits of their labour.

“Ending 40 years of neoliberalism can only be delivered by radical action to facilitate wholesale change to the economy.”

‘Budget will do very little to bring down inflation’

The New Economics Foundation also said that the Budget could have been more ambitious in its efforts to tackle inflation with a larger cost-of-living package.

Abhijay Sood, senior economist for the think tank, said: “While the cost-of-living measures announced in today’s budget will provide some relief to households, they’ll do very little to bring down inflation. 

“The government’s current reliance on the Bank of England to control inflation with interest rates alone is limited, hurting households and our economy.

“A bolder package of cost-of-living measures, including a National Energy Guarantee, rent controls, and free bus travel for under-25s, would have been good for people’s pockets and good for the economy as a whole.”

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‘Freezes to fuel duty do not work’

The Social Market Foundation welcomed the relief for households, as well as “positive announcements” on tax rises for the gambling sector and “potentially transformative changes to local government funding”.

However, research director Rebecca Montacute said: “Details of changes on many larger issues, including social care, welfare and student loans are yet to come. The questions are whether, and when, we see the larger-scale reforms the country needs.

The think tank was also critical of the decision to freeze fuel duty for another year.

Chief economist Gideon Salutin said: “Over the past seventeen years we’ve had constant cuts and freezes to fuel duty while life has grown harder for drivers, and in that time we’ve accumulated oodles of evidence that it does not work. 

“Many savings are gobbled up by fuel retailers, who keep the price level and pocket the difference. Most of what’s left is taken by rich motorists who tend to drive more and own less fuel-efficient cars. 

“Previous freezes have seen the richest tenth of earners save three times as much as the poorest tenth, and that’s before accounting for the lost revenue for welfare programmes and redistribution. 

“If government really wants to help hard-up drivers, it would support them into an EV, which are cheaper to operate than petrol cars, and support affordable transport services like buses and rail.”

‘Huge development for shifting services towards prevention’

However, the Institute for Government said the Budget was a “huge development for shifting services towards prevention” in public services and followed “recommendations that we’ve been making for years”.

CEO Hannah White said: “This is a really welcome step from the government. This recognises that some spending creates long-term benefits, such as improving people’s health or reducing reoffending. But too often those budgets are raided to pay for more immediate pressures.

“This is a huge development for shifting services towards prevention and is exactly what the government should be doing to support its ambitions to make public services work more effectively.”

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Headroom and predictions

• The OBR predicts growth of 1.2 percent this year, 1 percent 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 scrapped, 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 government
• 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 down payment 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 on-site 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.
  

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