Chancellor Healy, unveiling Andy Burnham’s first Labour government budget, pledged fiscal discipline while tapping last year’s fiscal headroom to blunt the impact of a US–Iran war, saying the conflict has pushed up inflation and increased costs for households and businesses. He forecast fiscal headroom would fall to £15bn in 2029/30 — broadly in line with economists’ expectations — before recovering to £22bn in 2030/31, and said the buffer would be used now and rebuilt when conditions allow. The

Chancellor Healy, unveiling Andy Burnham’s first Labour government budget, pledged fiscal discipline while tapping last year’s fiscal headroom to blunt the impact of a US–Iran war, saying the conflict has pushed up inflation and increased costs for households and businesses. He forecast fiscal headroom would fall to £15bn in 2029/30 — broadly in line with economists’ expectations — before recovering to £22bn in 2030/31, and said the buffer would be used now and rebuilt when conditions allow. The budget eases household energy bills and raises revenue via a bank tax. Gilts ticked higher during Healy’s speech; the 10-year gilt yield fell 2bps to 5.32%. GBP/EUR rose about 0.2% to 0.8377.