Budget today

Appreciate the £100 towards fuel bills - dependent on council tax band, - but I assume that’s home owners only?

Jaxjacky

Appreciate the £100 towards fuel bills - dependent on council tax band, - but I assume that’s home owners only?

Why? Why would it only be home owners? I’m not too sure but 80% of households were quoted?

Nothing to frighten the horses, as far as I can see it is steady as we go.

I’d say a fairly cautious and sensible budget but nothing particularly exciting

I for one am glad it is, "nothing particularly exciting".
Especially after last year, which seemed to have a build up of two months, with lots of media specualtion, not all of which came true[but that could have precisely been because of media speculation], and some of it bad in places.

The £100 toward fuel bills dependant on council tax band will surely include renters because they pay the council tax on the property they rent.

I don't think people in Band E homes will necessarily have more disposable income than those in lower bands, particularly as the bandings vary so much between areas, so that's a very blunt instrument. Council Tax really does need a shake-up.

Raising of the minimum wage is a good thing, IMO. I think the scrapping of standing charges on gas is good, and there is talk of doing the same with electricity too. At last that means that people can switch things off and not find they are still being charged.

I thought there would be more about benefits, but was pleased to see a large investment in social housing. I didn't take in the detail about the new ISAs for first time buyers, but that's potentially good, I think. I would have liked to see something about rent controls, too.

Overall, it was a bit underwhelming, I thought, but nothing much to complain about either.

It was ok, no big surprises, some help for those on lower incomes, yet again no relief or help for the squeezed middle , but I honestly wasn’t expecting any.

Personally I would like to have seen more spending on defence, as opposed to a pledge of working towards 3% of GDP.

Whitewavemark2

Nothing to frighten the horses, as far as I can see it is steady as we go.

I agree. Which is why I felt suprised to hear the guys on Political Currency asking if thus is a pre-eldction budget. He was easy to listen to.

Healey has effectively reintroduced the old age allowance (that was in force for decades until George Osborne abolished it) albeit aligning it with the rate of the full new state pension.

Martin Lewis:

From April 2027, if your total annual income is not more than full new State Pension (£13,037/yr) you will not pay tax. So this is £94 extra tax free. If your total income is slightly higher then for every £3 you earn above, you lose £1 of this extra allowance. So if you earn £13,186 (£150 above) you would get a 'Pension Tax Allowance' meaning you pay £44ish less tax than otherwise (ie £94 minus £50) So by total income of £13,319 you won't receive any extra allowance. HMRC will automatically apply this allowance you will not need to claim it. I will explain better on my show tomorrow. Rushing this now.

A agree that using the Council Tax bands as an yardstick for who gets help with energy bills is a blunt instrument and unfair. A higher band doesn’t necessarily mean a higher income. The Resolution Foundation has said: … the government has failed to learn the lesson of the last price spike – that poorly targeted energy support is wasteful.

I am pleased to hear about the removal of standing changes on gas. It should save me some money to offset against the extra tax I will pay on interest from April 2027. I’m not complaining about the latter. Tax free allowances on savings are generous so if you exceed those you can afford to pay a bit more tax. Removing the lower cash ISA limit for younger savers is welcome too.

Anything on defence? That concerns me far more than a few pennies off gherkins.

Yes, defence was mentioned. The speech will be available on iPlayer or ITVx if you missed it.

Full speech here:

www.gov.uk/government/speeches/budget-2026-speech

Once I'd got over his gushing tribute to his predecessor, I didn't feel there was anything to provoke any extreme reactions. All fairly normal stuff.

While raising the minimum wage is a good thing, it's a double-edged sword for employers here in the hospitality industry because it will push up payroll costs for local pubs, hotels, and holiday parks. So not all rosy in that area which requires lots of workers to operate.

Yes, that's always a tricky balance. I think rent and childcare need to be sorted out first, so people aren't spending such a high percentage of their income on those.

Sarnia

Anything on defence? That concerns me far more than a few pennies off gherkins.

Defence spending to rise

Defence spending will rise to 3% of GDP (a measure of everything produced in the economy) by 2030 and to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

Details of how this will be done were not announced and will instead come at the spending review next year, Mr Healey said