The 2026 budget has been revealed; how will it affect you personally, will it change the country and has chancellor John Healey done enough to prepare for the challenges ahead? Our money and economics editors Hilary Osborne and Heather Stewart are on line now answering your questions
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CordTrousers asks: Diesel is still at £1.99 a litre at our local station. That means inflation is going to remain elevated, as it feeds through to more everyday commodities there is going to be building pressure for wage increases ... Which will fuel inflation some more. After the midterms, it looks likely Trump will renew his attacks on Iran. A light touch budget like this then, feels a temporary measure. Really there’s nothing the UK can do but tighten its belt when we have such a constraint on fuel supply, is there?
Heather says: You’re absolutely right that as an energy-importing country, it’s just a fact that a crisis like the one we’re going through makes us poorer. So I think John Healey’s message that the government can’t completely insulate consumers, but want to do a bit to help, is probably the right one. But whether he’s done enough remains to be seen - inflation is set to rise further, as you say, and the Bank of England is likely to raise interest rates next week, so that £100 cost of living payment might not look so generous by the New Year. Obviously the government is hoping the Iran conflict will subside, which might allow oil prices to fall, and the economy to bounce back (GDP growth was actually pretty strong in the first half of this year). Time will tell.
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