- Chancellor John Healey delivered his first Budget, introducing targeted support including a £100 energy bill reduction for 20 million homes, a 3.9 per cent minimum wage increase, and extended VAT relief on electricity.
- The tax burden reached a new high, funded partly by a two per cent increase in taxes on property and savings income alongside a temporary doubling of the bank surcharge to 6 per cent.
- The Office for Budget Responsibility slashed next year's GDP growth forecast to 1 per cent and warned of a dismal outlook for real household disposable income.
- The Institute for Fiscal Studies criticised the measures for failing to boost economic growth, warning that higher property taxes could result in increased rents for tenants.
- Opposition parties criticised Healey after he postponed setting out plans to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP until next year's spending review.
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