Breaking News31 July 2026 at 18:12
First Budget date set - the bench has watched this scene before
The Crossbencher Newsdesk
Chancellor John Healey has announced the date for the first Budget under Andy Burnham's government. The Financial Times and BBC News report it will be delivered in October, with accompanying promises to move money and power out of London.
A new Chancellor. The bench has now watched dozens arrive with a plan. It is usually the same plan - decentralisation, growth, fairness - and it is usually the same maths by the second year. Burnham's government has made policy announcements at pace since taking office; the Budget will be the first reckoning of whether the sums and the promises can be made to meet.
October budgets have a long record in British politics. They tend to arrive after summer optimism has met autumn reality. The date is set; the difficulty begins when the numbers go in.
Sources and receipts (5) +
- as captured - The Independent: In The Room | Who’s winning the summer? Burnham, Badenoch and Farage assessed source · 9c12e571… →
- as captured - The Mirror: Andy Burnham appoints Grammy-winning Clean Bandit star as top economic adviser source · 2b86718a… →
- as captured - The Guardian: The Guardian view on England’s centralised state: Andy Burnham must unbundle it | Editorial source · 8299a427… →
- as captured - Daily Express: With climate loon Ed Miliband gone, Andy Burnham must scrap 'lunatic' net zero policies source · 8cae8604… →
- as captured - Daily Mail: Andy Burnham appoints former pop band star and heartthrob to be his top economic adviser after causing a stir in the Treasury source · 28ea6580… →
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