A Labour budget from a new Labour government

Ella Rose, Director
28/10/2026

Like many Labour leaders, Burnham ran from the left but moves towards the centre to govern. It is easy to say that your brand of Labour is authentic Labour, but his budget borrows ideas and themes from across the Labour movement, but was broadly safe, keeping the door open to an early General Election without increasing its chances markedly.

Let’s start on the positives – growth is in a good place. The IMF “standout” comment does a lot for Labour’s economic credibility, which is the battleground on which all General Elections are fought.

There were touches of the Starmer playbook but delivered in the language of Burnham. A budget for working people and the language of fiscal discipline, could have been the budget of Reeves, whom Healey paid tribute to. But the Burnham twist came in the themes that have characterised his leadership so far – devolution and good growth in every postcode.

There were similarities to the communications style from Burnham’s conference speech. The triple lock change to social care service pipeline showed that tough changes can be sold by showing results, the hope that Burnham is trying to infuse into the country. The Budget had two of these pipelines. 70,000 more businesses out of paying business rates altogether, paid for by increasing taxes on gambling, vapes shops, bad high street paying for good high street. Banks paying for the reduction in energy bills. The richest corporations supporting those in need.

This budget had a huge amount of security for the little that wasn’t known. The biggest rabbit immediately crashed the HMRC website, the announcement on the £100 energy payment per household for Council Bands A-D.

Perhaps the most interesting announcement came in the language around energy. It displays a marked shift in energy policy from Miliband’s DESNZ, where he was able to use his personal stature to drive a key role in the government. The government has moved from focusing on clean energy, to cheap energy, describing the decision to approve Jackdaw as a pragmatic, common-sense decision.

It wouldn’t be a Burnham budget without a mention of devolution. As well as the classic long list of projects across the nation and regions comes the much-mooted devolution of tax revenues and roadmap for fiscal devolution.

Rather than raise "broad-based" taxes or "slash" public spending, John Healey is reducing the fiscal headline from £23bn to £15bn to deal with impact of Iran War on public finances. "That is what a buffer is for - use it when you need, restore it when you can". Healey perhaps is guilty of the optimism of the left – he assumes things will get better not worse. And that is with much that is still unknown – the results and implantation of the Milburn Review and Burnham’s 10-year plan, as well as the potential of further war in the Middle East after the American mid-terms.

This Labour budget is well within the Labour tradition – more homes, cheaper prices, devolution. But, with multiple mentions of private-public partnerships, it is not as radical as many of Burnham’s supporters would have hoped.

Image: HM Treasury Flickr