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2.57PM: Operators have their say
JW Lees managing director described today’s address as “a nothing Budget”.
He told The MA: “While the help on business rates will help in England they won’t help in Wales.”
Pointing to the increase to the national minimum wage and national living wage, he added “All in all, it’s not going to help hospitality and the on-trade.”
Meanwhile, operator of the Dr Foster in Gloucester, Dorian Kirk, said the Budget did not deliver “meaningful” relief.
He continued: “Support for smaller premises is welcome, but there’s no hospitality VAT cut or relief on employer national insurance, while our wage bill will rise again.”
In addition, Barons Pub Company managing director and British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) chair, Clive Price, told The MA he was “disappointed” with the fiscal update.
2.45PM: More information
Read more about the measures announced during the Budget below:
2.34PM: UKH boss responds to Budget
UKHospitality (UKH) chief executive Allen Simpson has responded to the Budget.
He told The MA the address was “a small step in the right direction but not the strides we need”.
2.31PM: OPINION: The cavalry never came for pubs
The Morning Advertiser’s (The MA) editor Ed Bedington has said pubs were promised the “cavalry was coming”, but instead were presented a Budget that delivered “pretty much bugger all”.
Read more in Bedington’s opinion piece following the Budget here.
2.14PM: Lord welcomes biz rates relief
Night-time Industries Association (NTIA) chair Sacha Lord has described the Chancellor’s expanded business rates relief as a “welcome boost”.
Writing on social media, Lord said: “The Chancellor has just taken 70,000 more retail, hospitality and leisure businesses out of business rates. A welcome boost for our High Streets.”
1.37PM: Badenoch’s Budget response
Leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch has slammed Healey’s Budget, accusing him of putting Labour’s interest before Britain’s.
The Conservative party leader described last year’s Budget as a “’Budget for benefits street”, adding Labour’s last two addresses had “weakened our economy” and that today “failed” to fix it.
“Labour’s Britain has no resilience”, she later said. “This Budget does not come close to meeting the moment.”
However, she welcomed Healey’s announcements on the minimum wage for young people, describing it as the “right thing to do”.
1.30PM: Healey finishes address
Healey has now commended his statement to the House, adding today’s Budget would provide “breathing space now, while taking the long-term action to get costs down for good.”
He continued: “The decisions I’ve taken today will help steer Britain through. And when the storms pass, what matters is where Britain is heading: a Britain reindustrialised, a Britain with power returned to communities, threats deterred, global opportunities seized.
“And for our high streets, it’s gaming machines and vape shops that will help provide the funding for our pubs, our shops and our cafes to thrive.”
1.17PM: Mayors to be given new tax powers
Healey has pledged to let local authorities retain 100% of business rates revenue by the end of the decade as part of the Government’s wider fiscal devolution package.
From next year, 20% of business rates revenue will be allocated directly to mayors, while from 2028 mayoral authorities will also receive a share of income tax receipts.
Alongside this, Healey also confirmed he would grant mayors “powers” to introduce an overnight visitor levy from 2028, with the funding intended to support local infrastructure and growth projects.
The Chancellor said he was giving “new powers to the people who know their areas best”.
1.11PM: Skilled worker visa changes
Healey has briefly outlined the Government would reform skilled worker visas, with further details expected to follow in the days after the address.
12.59PM: £10m duty relief
Healey has announced £10m of alcohol duty relief for around 2,000 small British brewers and cider makers.
“For those who feel like celebrating tax cuts for our high streets, I’m providing a £10m alcohol duty relief for around 2,000 small British brewers and British cider makers", the Chancellor said.
12.56PM: Support funded by tax changes
The Government will fund its business rates package by increasing machine games duty from 20% to 25% on higher-stakes gambling machines, “protecting pubs and seaside arcades”, Healey told the Commons.
He also announced vape shops and adult gaming centres would be excluded from business rates relief and pledged tougher VAT enforcement for online marketplace sellers.
12.55PM: Business rates relief expanded
The Chancellor has announced an increase in the threshold for small business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses from £12,000 to £18,000.
He said the change would bring a further 70,000 businesses out of paying business rates altogether, with around half of shops, restaurants and gyms no longer liable.
Healey also confirmed business rates for other businesses in the sector will be frozen in real terms for the next two years.
“I’m taking action to support our high streets,” he added.
12.52PM: Wages to rise
Healey has said the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are both set to increase by 3.9% for 2.3m of the nation’s “lowest-paid workers”.
12.50PM: Impact of energy costs ‘felt in public finances’
The Chancellor said rising energy costs have resulted in higher running costs for businesses and more expensive business loans.
Healey said he was “setting a new course” for energy costs today, adding “cheaper energy” was a priority to the Government and reaffirming its commitment to Net Zero by 2050.
He pledged to put in place a 25% discount on electricity bills from next April for some 10,000 businesses “at the heart of British industries”, with backdated energy costs for this year too. He did not confirm which businesses or industries would be included.
12.44PM: ‘Real challenges ahead’
The Chancellor has said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has upgraded its growth forecast for 2026 to 1.2%, followed by 1% in 2027, 1.6% in 2028, 1.8% in 2029, 1.7% in 2030 and 1.6% in 2031.
While acknowledging ongoing pressures on households and businesses, Healey said the UK had outperformed forecasts this year, adding today’s Budget measures would help the country exceed expectations again.
12.35PM: Healey vows to give people ‘hope’
Healey began his address describing the Budget as being “for the working people of Britain” as well as businesses “big and small”.
The Chancellor said the Budget had been built on “fiscal discipline” and would provide “immediate action with a clear direction for the future”.
“This Budget puts us on track to eliminate the current budget deficit and get British finances into the black within three years”, he later added.
12.31PM: PMQs ends
PMQs has now ended as Healey prepares to deliver his Budget.
12.17PM: PM says Brexit stance unchanged
During PMQs, Burnham ruled out joining the EU customs union or single market during this Parliament, after being pressed by Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey on closer economic ties with Europe.
Davey asked: “Rather than waiting until Labour’s next manifesto, will the Prime Minister start now to show the economic benefits of a closer trading relationship with Europe by joining customs union, joining the single market, boosting growth and using the dividends of that growth to help with the cost-of-living by cutting people’s taxes?”
To which the PM replied: “We will not be doing those things in this Parliament.
“We will take pragmatic steps where we can to support British businesses by improving the Brexit arrangements that we have got. I think it is extraordinary that the opposition are unable to back us in getting those better arrangements in place.
“They claim to be the party of business. They have turned their back on them today. This party never will.”
12.12PM: Burnham marks 100 days as PM
As well as the Autumn Budget, today also marks 100 days since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.
During his first three months in office, Burnham sought to position Labour as a supporter of pubs and hospitality, yet operators continue to raise concerns about rising employment and operating costs.
Read more about how the PM has impacted the sector since July here.
12.05PM: What is expected
The sector will be watching for any changes to alcohol duty after reports yesterday the Treasury is considering a freeze, a move that was welcomed by trade bodies amid ongoing cost pressures.
Other areas of focus include business rates reform, investment incentives and measures to support consumer spending and business confidence.
12.03PM: What Labour has said
Labour has framed today’s Budget as a growth-focused package aimed at supporting investment, job creation and economic stability while sticking to its fiscal rules.
Ahead of the statement, ministers have indicated the Budget will be focused on boosting productivity, supporting businesses and delivering on the Government’s long-term growth agenda.
11.59AM: Chancellor heads to the Commons
Healey has now left Downing Street with the iconic red box in hand ahead of the Budget this afternoon, with PMQs about to get underway.
11.08AM: What the sector wants
Ahead of the Budget, the sector has outlined the measures it needs to survive:
- Business rates reform
- Support with rising employer NICs and wage costs
- A freeze or cut to alcohol duty
- Action on energy and operating costs
- Investment incentives to encourage growth
- Measures to support the night-time economy and high streets
- A lower overall tax burden on hospitality businesses
10.50AM: Tommy Banks: Will PM listen?
Ahead of the Budget, Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Tommy Banks has stressed today’s address has “so much riding on it” for independent operators.
Sharing a video to social media, Banks said: “We’ve made our voices heard - but will Andy Burnham’s Government listen?”
10.30AM: Healey - from pubs minister to Chancellor
Operators welcomed Healey’s move to the Treasury in July after his tenure as pubs minister, during which he positioned himself as a vocal supporter of hospitality.
Read more about how the now Chancellor impacted the sector as pubs minister here.
10.23AM: Consumers hit ‘affordability ceiling’
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has urged the Chancellor to use the Budget to ease cost pressures on the sector, warning consumers have reached an “affordability ceiling”.
Citing new CGA by NIQ research, the trade body said slower spending growth suggested operators can not rely on price increases to offset rising costs, calling for action on business rates, employment costs and taxation.
10.00AM: Live updates
Welcome to The MA’s live coverage of the 2026 Autumn Budget.
Chancellor John Healey will deliver the Budget in the House of Commons this afternoon. The address is due to begin at 12.30pm, after Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).
