After more than a year of speculation about a major cost blowout, the state government is set to receive a final price on the new Women's and Children's Hospital within months.
Restaurant and retail bosses said they desperately need to be given breathing space in the Budget, as further wage rises will make it even harder for them to retain or take on staff.
DIY SOS viewers have asked the BBC to reconsider their decision to shelve the show due to budget cuts as the last ever episode aired on Tuesday night.
John Healey will not curb runaway welfare spending despite growing pressure on the public finances. Instead, he is expected to increase the tax burden to the highest level on record to help boost handouts.
The expected unveiling of billions more in welfare payments in today's Budget will amount to a textbook example of adding insult to injury
As John Healey stands at the Dispatch Box today, likely unveiling a Budget that hikes taxes and worsens our national debt, he should remember the milestone the City of London has just marked.
After 101 days as Chancellor, Mr Healey will set out his fiscal plans to the House of Commons amid growing warning signs about the UK economy.
Digital taper system for benefit expected in budget, but those already hit with overpayments will still have to pay“On the surface it sounds really positive – and I really hope that it is,” says unpaid carer Guy Shahar of the government’s decision to abolish the notorious carer’s allowance cliff edge.But Shahar is angry that most carers hit with unjust overpayments in the past will still have to repay them, for all the promise of a different future.
And he notes that the cliff edge remains in place for four more years, potentially catching out more carers. Continue reading...
John Healey will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday in a highly anticipated address
Three charts show why oil prices that exceed 2026 budget assumptions matter for both importers and exporters. The post High oil prices have several Latin American governments feeling the financial pressure appeared first on Atlantic Council.
Zohran Mamdani campaigned on progressive K-12 education reform, but advocates say the New York City mayor has produced few substantive changes.
Chancellor to pledge extra support for businesses, entrepreneurs and households during ‘difficult moment’
Chancellor will use Wednesday’s Budget to maintain tax-free limit at £20,000 a year, reversing plan by predecessor Rachel Reeves
EXCLUSIVE: Chancellor John Healey will pledge hope for businesses big and small in his maiden Budget, while kickstarting action to get high energy costs down for good
Having lost the first round of Brazil’s presidential election to far right rival Flávio Bolsonaro, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spectacularly triumphed in the second. The Guardian’s Latin America corrrespondent Tom Phillips answered your questions on what’s next for Brazil.Jeremy Hurley asks: Why did the Brazil stock market tank after the election result, and will it recover?Tom: Basically, because the markets had been convinced that Flávio Bolsonaro was going to win and that after taking power he would implement a “chainsaw” style austerity programme inspired by Javier Milei’s government in Argentina, deal with Brazil’s budget deficit, and bring down interest rates.
Lula’s victory came as a shock to investors who believe his fourth presidency will see increased and unsustainable public spending.Yes, I’m sure things will stabilise at some point soon after the initial panic – during Lula’s previous administrations investors made a lot of money, particularly during his first two terms.
There is talk of Lula naming his vice-president, the centre-right politician Geraldo Alckmin, as finance minister in order to calm markets down. Another possible name is Rafael Fonteles, a mathematician who is the governor of Piauí and used to run that state’s finances.Tom: That’s a really good question and, as someone who lives in Rio de Janeiro, it is one that has been on my mind a lot.
The far right has been very good at blaming “soft” left wing policies and federal government incompetence for the failure to control armed violence. It was a huge part of the campaign against Lula in the run up to this election.But public security is a state matter and Rio state has largely been governed by the right for years now.
Their hard-line, shoot first ask questions later approach has not worked - in fact many believe it has made the violence even worse and led to massacres such as the one I covered in the Complexo da Penha almost exactly one year ago. It must be said that similar tactics have been used in Bahia state, which has a huge problem with violence and is governed by the Worker’s party (PT).
My colleague Tiago Rogero has written about this. Continue reading...
Support on the cost of living, and in particular energy bills, as well as announcments on devolution will be central to John Healey's first Budget.
Emissions from exported oil would not count against carbon budget, insiders say – reasoning likely to draw dismay from climate campaignersThe giant Rosebank oilfield can be approved without breaching the UK’s emission targets, according to government insiders, in a boost to those in the cabinet who are pushing for it to be given the go-ahead.The Guardian revealed last week that Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, was leaning towards rejecting the project, but her position has put her at loggerheads with cabinet colleagues, including the chancellor, John Healey, who are lobbying for an approval.
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Emissions from exported oil would not count against carbon budget, insiders say – reasoning likely to draw dismay from climate campaignersThe giant Rosebank oilfield can be approved without breaching the UK’s emission targets, according to government insiders, in a boost to those in the cabinet who are pushing for it to be given the go-ahead.The Guardian revealed last week that Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, was leaning towards rejecting the project, but her position has put her at loggerheads with cabinet colleagues, including the chancellor, John Healey, who are lobbying for an approval.
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Negotiations with the province to help relieve Toronto's budget pressures loomed over Olivia Chow's election victory, as she vowed to be the "mayor for everyone."
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The Conservatives doubt whether women and girls will feel safer as a result of the funding.
Nils Pratley | A regulator to keep the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank on mission is starting to look essentialTwo winners in the budget are known already. They are the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank, state-funded investment bodies that have rapidly become central to the government’s growth strategy.The former chancellor Rachel Reeves handed extra slugs of capital to both and now John Healey is going further.
The NWF will get another £15.4bn over the next half decade, on top of its existing £27.8bn, and there’ll be another £5bn for the BBB, which already has £30.6bn. Continue reading...
Our message to Chancellor John Healey: "We need a Budget that fans the embers of economic growth, and that creates jobs for the near one million Neets and older workers alike"
Economists warn ahead of chancellor John Healey’s first Budget that the UK must also exercise spending restraint
Our message to Chancellor John Healey: "We need a Budget that fans the embers of economic growth, and that creates jobs for the near one million Neets and older workers alike"
New PM Andy Burnham has vowed to bring 'hope' back to Britain, but is facing some difficult choices as the world continues to feel the impact of conflict in the Middle East
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged cutting import tariffs on such products was 'not everything'.
Chancellor John Healey will reveal the new pay rates in the Budget, and has also announced measures to help households with the cost of living.
Misogyny prevention fund to help tackle sexism at work, school and in public places across UK• UK politics live – latest updatesThe chancellor will give £15m to a dedicated fund to tackle misogyny in workplaces, schools and public places amid concerns in government about the rise of “manosphere” influencers.The women and equalities minister, Bridget Phillipson, will helm the UK-wide fund, announced last month, marking the first time there has been specific national cash to address misogyny.
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Four Senate Democrats are pressing Trump officials to begin restoring billions of dollars in clean energy grants before a key vote on the permitting deal.Why it matters: The path for the bipartisan bill in the lame duck session just got steeper. The big picture: Before the first vote, the senators — Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Ed Markey (Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (Ore.)
— want Trump aides to tell the Energy Department to:Begin reinstating grants terminated in October 2025 that have not already been restored with a clear timeline for completion, and allow recipients to draw on the funds under the original terms.Pledge in writing not to cancel grants based on the political hue of a state or its officials.Driving the news: Their new letter to the bill's authors stops shy of an ultimatum, but says it would be "compelling" if these steps occurred.It shows deep misgivings about the bill, arguing it could provide new tools for Trump to favor fossil fuels."[T]he promise of BAAJA will only succeed if President Trump takes care that it is faithfully executed.
The Trump administration's record gives us no basis to assume that he will," the letter states, calling the bill by its acronym.Catch up quick: The letter recounts the scuttling of Biden-era grants, and White House budget chief Russ Vought listing states that did not vote for President Trump in 2024.The Energy Department has acknowledged, in a court filing, that selections of grants for termination in October 2025 were based on politics.Restoring "unlawfully terminated DOE clean energy awards would be a small but important first step" toward fairness in permitting, it states.Friction point: Co-authors Sens.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) want to see more federal approvals of stalled renewables projects.They've called some recent administration moves a step in the right direction. But the new letter shows that other lawmakers have separate asks of the administration. Already, some House Democrats have criticized other portions of the bill and called for changes, such as its effects on tribal input into energy projects.
State of play: The status of billions of dollars in scuttled or frozen grants — under the 2021 infrastructure and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — is a moving legal and administrative target. Many are in "limbo," per a report this month from the DOE Alumni Network and Lawyers for Good Government.It also found that most projects DOE retained have received "negligible" funding.
The October 2025 cancellations largely targeted blue states, but wider delays and uncertainty have affected places of varying political stripes.Flashback: DOE has said it reviewed grants for financial soundness, economic viability, consistency with administration goals, and other criteria. Sign up here for Axios' Future of Energy newsletter.
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explicare.deBoiler upgrade scheme, which provides grants of up to £9,000 for sustainable alternatives, expected to be slashed in budgetWhen Bill Tuck first started installing air source heat pumps six years ago, other heating engineers were skeptical about whether the green technology would take off. “Now, the conversation is completely different,” he said.“I’m getting approached by them saying: ‘Mrs Jones, my customer for 15 years, she’s enquiring about a heat pump.
What can you tell me?’ The whole narrative has changed.” Continue reading...
Administrator BTG says 738,144 firms struggling as calls grow for more support for private sector in budgetBusiness live – latest updatesThe number of UK businesses in financial distress has hit its highest level in more than two decades, as pressure grows on the chancellor to provide more support to the private sector in Wednesday’s budget.There were 738,144 businesses in “significant” financial distress in the third quarter of this year, up 1.6% compared with the same period last year, according to BTG.
That is the highest level since the administrator’s closely watched “red flag” report began in 2004. Continue reading...
Among the many changes in Chancellor John Healey's inaugural Budget tomorrow are possible inflation-linked increases in booze duty, and smokers walloped with higher taxes
Among the many changes in Chancellor John Healey's inaugural Budget tomorrow are possible inflation-linked increases in booze duty, and smokers walloped with higher taxes
Removing tariffs on more than 100 products, including gherkins and baked beans, was one of five measures announced this morning before tomorrow’s budgetNigel Farage has rejected research showing that most of Reform UK’s donations have come from people or firms recently based overseas.In a report for the Independent, Millie Cooke says:An astonishing 80% of donations to Reform UK in the past 12 months have come from donors or companies recently based overseas, The Independent can reveal.An analysis of data from the Electoral Commission shows the amount received from donors who were based abroad in the past two years by Nigel Farage’s party dwarfs that of other parties amid growing concern about overseas influence in British politics.Whoever’s done this research doesn’t understand where people domicile, how they operate, where they live, and where they vote …I can assure you, these people vote here, live here, some of them are international businessmen who travelled the world constantly.
In the old days, we used to be proud of British pioneers that went out there and made a great success of their lives.Garlic (8% + £100 per 100 kg)Gherkins (12%) Continue reading...
It follows 'rampant speculation' about a raid on pensions before the last Budget.
Faiza Shaheen | Even most Reform voters are in favour of a tax on the super-wealthy. Yet the first budget of the Burnham era looks set to dodge the issueIn John Healey’s first budget this week, we will finally get a sense of the economic policies that will deliver Andy Burnham’s pledge to end neoliberalism.
Or will we? Capital gains tax equalised with income tax? Ruled out. A genuine wealth tax on those sitting on over £10m? Off the table. Even the briefed increase in the banking surcharge only takes us back to where it was until the Conservatives cut it in 2023. We can cross our fingers for trailed policies on supporting high streets, financial devolution and longer-term investment, but there is still more than a whiff of trickle-down economics in the air.Poll after poll shows that the British public overwhelmingly supports wealth taxes on the super-rich – including three in five Reform-leaning voters.
We know that wealth inequality – with the richest 50 families in the UK possessing more wealth than half of the UK population – is weakening our economy, eroding our social fabric and undermining our democracy. Just last year, Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, explicitly acknowledged that we have “overtaxed labour and undertaxed wealth”.
So what on earth is going on?Faiza Shaheen is executive director of Tax Justice UK Continue reading...
Removing tariffs on more than 100 products, including gherkins and baked beans, was one of five measures announced this morning before tomorrow’s budgetIt is not just gherkins where the Treasury is cutting import tariffs. (See 9.07am.) Here is the lists from the Treasury of mostly food imports where tariffs are being cut.Garlic (8% + £100 per 100 kg)Gherkins (12%)Yes, I do.
We certainly stand taller in the world. The terrible projections of doom as to what would happen to our financial sector etc haven’t happened. Our growth rates are higher than our European competitors. Our exports, particularly of services to the European Union, have actually rocketed.
And we’ve now got more trade deals and more options around the rest of the world.Five months ago, Andy Burnham says … I’m not going to reopen these arguments.Two-and-a-half years ago, a Labour government got a massive majority in parliament saying we will not be re-entering the single market, the customs union, or opening up a debate on the free movement of people.
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The Budget comes on the back of another year of economic upheaval, particularly linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Readers discuss the federal Coalition’s retreat from its climate policy to fund budget cuts.