Andy Burnham's first Budget, delivered by Chancellor John Healey, has been described as a set of largely small-scale measures to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis for those worst off, rather than a dramatic realignment of the country's foundations.
The speech, which was the first time much of the public heard from Healey, included a £100 payment for households in council tax bands A to D this winter to help counteract an expected January hike in energy bills. The announcement was reportedly exciting enough to crash the website telling people which band they are in.
Reasons for a cautious approach
There were two reasons why the Budget was not as radical as many might have expected. One is that Healey's role is to act as a counterbalance to the ambition of the prime minister and reassure the markets that the changes he talks about are not going to be that extreme. The other is that the country is in a precarious place economically.
Healey wants to appear serious about meeting the 'fiscal rules' set by Rachel Reeves, which include getting the government's current budget into the black by the end of the decade.
Hints of bolder policy
Despite the cautious approach, there were a few scattered hints of genuinely bold policy. One was Healey's pledge to 'begin the radical reform of energy' which would bring down energy bills in the future. He made clear the Labour government would now prioritise cheaper, not necessarily cleaner, energy – though he said clean power would be 'key' to this.
The other was on devolution. By the end of this decade, the chancellor said, 100% of business rates would be kept by the local authorities where they were collected, along with 'a share of income tax' by 2028.
Fiscal devolution and future impact
Treasury figures pointed to this commitment to fiscal devolution when asked if this was truly a Budget that sounded the death knell for – in Burnham's words – 40 years of neoliberalism. It would, the chancellor said, allow local mayors to spend money on projects that matter to their local area, like Sadiq Khan's Bakerloo line extension.
However, those impacts lie far in the future. Healey's challenge will be convincing the hard-up country that the minor moves he's making now will be enough to carry them through to that point, before the foundation-shaking radicalism begins.
