By Ahmed Abdelsalam
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the government's Budget against claims it lacks boldness, acknowledging limited fiscal room for manoeuvre while highlighting measures to support households and businesses.
Burnham Highlights Support Measures
Burnham told broadcasters the Budget includes a council tax cut to help 20 million households with energy costs this winter, lifts 70,000 businesses out of business rates entirely, and removes VAT from electricity bills. He said these steps provide a real lift to high streets and demonstrate a prudent approach that meets fiscal rules.
Opposition and Think Tank Criticism
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the Budget as “not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough,” while Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick called it a “nothing burger.” The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the statement contains a “raft of fiddly measures” that will do little to boost growth and warned that borrowing reduction has been pushed back. The Resolution Foundation added that Chancellor John Healey had “spread the jam thin.”
Economic Forecast and Living Standards
Healey presented his first Budget amid a difficult domestic economic situation worsened by the Iran war, promising to steer the country through global economic storms. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that real household disposable income per person will fall slightly in the near term before partially recovering as the energy price shock eases, but will remain only around 2% above pre-pandemic levels by 2030-31. The Budget faces further scrutiny this week from the OBR, Resolution Foundation, and IFS.
To fund the measures, Healey increased taxes on banks and gambling firms, aiming to provide the “breathing space” he pledged for households and high street businesses.
