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Budget 2026: £100 energy payment for millions and rise in bank tax as watchdog warns on stalling living standards – as it happened

The chancellor promised a £100 energy payment for some households, extended the VAT suspension on electricity bills to next July and confirmed the scrapping of gas standing charges.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 4 sources•2 min read•Updated October 28, 2026, 6:45 PM UTC
Key points
  • OBR says that living standards are forecast to rise by just 1% over the whole post-Covid decade Budget 2026: key points at a glance Martin Lewis said that, when he met John Healey this morning, the chancellor said that, having removed standing charges from gas bills, he would also like to get rid of them from electricity bills.
  • Lewis said: The chancellor said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is ‘trickier’ apparently and will take longer.
  • The chancellor targets the cost of living amid global economic turmoil but opposition parties say he has not been bold enough.

John Healey has delivered a ‘steady as she goes’ budget, with help for the cost of living a big theme.

But after months of the same old message of ‘hope in difficult times’, and many of the big decisions on tax and spending delayed until next year, what should we take away from today?

Additional details
  • Here is what you need to know about the payment that millions will receive from January.
  • The Conservatives doubt whether women and girls will feel safer as a result of the funding.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 5 articles from 4 outlets

BBC BusinessOctober 28, 2026, 6:45 PM UTC → The Guardian WorldOctober 28, 2026, 6:24 PM UTC → The Guardian BusinessOctober 28, 2026, 6:20 PM UTC → BBC BusinessOctober 28, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC → BBC PoliticsOctober 27, 2026, 6:23 PM UTC →

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