Budget 2026: six charts that reveal the economic realities facing the chancellor
Source: The Guardian ·
From tackling the youth jobs crisis to repairing Brexit’s economic damage, John Healey has his work cut out for himJohn Healey will deliver his first budget on Wednesday as UK households and businesses come under pressure from the unfolding economic shock caused by the war in the Middle East.Against a febrile backdrop in global markets, the chancellor is facing a delicate balancing act to…
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John Healey will deliver his first budget on Wednesday as UK households and businesses come under pressure from the unfolding economic shock caused by the war in the Middle East. Against a febrile backdrop in global markets, the chancellor is facing a delicate balancing act to provide “breathing space” measures to ease the cost of living crisis while increasing growth and sticking to the fiscal rules. Healey will also flesh out Andy Burnham’s pledge to deliver “good growth in every postcode”, with measures to hand local leaders more money and power. Here are six charts that will underpin the chancellor’s decisions. At the spring statement, Healey’s immediate predecessor, Rachel Reeves, left herself £23.6bn of “headroom” against the fiscal rules, which require day-to-day spending to be matched by receipts by the end of this parliament. However, the buffer is widely expected to have been slashed by a surge in debt interest costs, as the war in the Middle East causes a global inflation…