By Ahmed Abdelsalam
Chancellor John Healey was filmed downing a pint of "Chancellor's Choice" beer after delivering his maiden Budget to the House of Commons.
Video shared by Treasury secretary
Treasury secretary Dan Tomlinson posted the footage on X, showing Healey pouring the beer and drinking it in one go as civil servants cheered. Tomlinson captioned the video: “The boss seeing off a pint of Chancellor's Choice after a long day at the office.”
Beer marks business rates cut
The aptly named pint was brewed by Rotherham-based Chantry Brewery to celebrate the government's earlier cut to business rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues.
Budget measures and criticism
Healey's Budget included a 2p rise in the price of a pint, tariff cuts on everyday items such as gherkins and chocolate, an extension of the VAT cut on electricity bills, and a 3.9 per cent minimum wage increase for 2.3 million workers. The announcement drew criticism from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the country is “drowning in an out-of-control welfare system,” and from Institute of Fiscal Studies director Helen Miller, who described the measures as a “raft of fiddly measures but very little that will move the dial on growth.”
