Budget 2026

Peter John, 28 October 2026 We had to wait until the end of Chancellor John Healey's Budget to hear the specifics about housing. Alongside the £430 million set aside to tackle rough sleeping until the end of the Parliament, the Chancellor reaffirmed his commitment to the "Your First Home" programme announced at the Labour Conference; extended cheaper borrowing rules for councils to build more council homes, and established the First Time Buyer ISA to encourage young people who are saving for their first home.

It was also welcome to hear the Chancellor pledge "no new building regulations" for the remainder of this Parliament - although I assume that those which have already been introduced or anticipated will continue, and he gave himself the caveat that safety regulations would also be permitted if required.

But the development community should draw some comfort from the fact that this was a Budget which talked positively about business, and didn't follow the warm words with cold grabs for cash. There was positive news for entrepreneurs and company founders (with the new Founders Tax Relief); and those investing in Data Centres should welcome the British Data Centre Covenant which guarantees government relief for power and resources provided that the Centre developer upholds their end of the bargain with local investment.

The Chancellor also made real steps in localising business and income taxes to strategic mayoral authorities - 20% of business rates from next year and 100% by 2030 - so that projects like the Bakerloo Line Extension can be delivered in London. This is hugely welcome news and should enable the Mayor and GLA to move forward with renewed vigour to make this project a reality.

Welfare and Defence featured strongly as they were bound to do. We will have to wait for some details of how the Welfare budget will be reformed - but there is a consistent message from the Burnham government that the welfare bill will be reduced by getting people into work. And the commitment to 3.5% of GDP spent on Defence by 2035 remains - not forgetting the real terms increases that the budget has already received.

So a Budget which largely delivered on its promise. And this was not a "steady as she goes" event, but the logical next phase of an ambitious plan to redistribute wealth and power across the country.