Chancellor John Healey has delivered his first Autumn Budget under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, promising to ease the cost of living, support British businesses and strengthen national security. But with rising energy costs, pressure on public finances and difficult choices over taxation and spending, does this Budget offer real solutions or simply temporary relief?
Talk presenter Peter Cardwell joins us to break down the biggest announcements, who stands to benefit, who could lose out and what the measures mean for working families, businesses and the wider economy.
Defence is another major test for the Chancellor. Healey has pledged to fully fund the Defence Investment Plan, including by reprioritising spending across Whitehall, but the route to meeting NATO’s defence spending targets will not be set out until next year’s spending review. Retired Major General Julian Free MBE, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Head of the Defence portfolio at the University of Lincoln, joins us to examine whether Britain is investing enough in its armed forces and what the decisions mean for national security.
Fuel duty is also in the spotlight. The government has extended the temporary 5p-a-litre fuel duty cut and freeze until July 2027. Howard Cox, founder of FairFuel UK, says motorists need more than a freeze and is calling for further action on fuel taxes and pump prices. Is the Chancellor doing enough for drivers, hauliers and small businesses?
And former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell gives his verdict on the Budget from the Labour left. He has welcomed some cost-of-living support but warned that the measures offer only limited relief, arguing that the government must go further on investment, low pay, poverty and public services. Can Healey deliver lasting economic change, or will households be left waiting for more?
John Healey Budget, Autumn Budget 2026, Andy Burnham, cost of living, taxation, public spending, defence spending, NATO, British Armed Forces, Julian Free, fuel duty, petrol prices, Howard Cox, FairFuel UK, John McDonnell, Labour government, British economy, national security.
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