Budget 2026: The Breathing Space Budget

Despite an initially tight-lipped No.11, we saw a drumbeat of pre-budget announcements from the government in the runup to yesterday’s Budget, largely in a step to reassure markets and prevent the kind of spook we saw a few years ago. John Healey, seen by many as the apprentice of Gordon Brown, yesterday delivered a 'steady as she goes’ Budget with a little bit here and a little bit there. While there were some major announcements, much of yesterday’s discussion focussed on what is not in the Budget as much as what is in there.