When is the Autumn Budget?

Chancellor John Healey will set out the government’s plans for taxation and spending for the next year and beyond at the 2026 Autumn Budget on Wednesday 28 October.

The budget will be the first fiscal test for prime minister Andy Burnham’s Labour government as worries grow that the chancellor will need to raise taxes to fund public services.

Healey said on 31 July: “The Budget will [move] money and power out of Westminster, and into every postcode around Britain. It will be built on fiscal discipline. It will meet our fiscal rules. It’ll give businesses and families some of the stability they need to plan for the future.”

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One of the key challenges Healey faces is balancing the public finances. The government’s fiscal rules prevent it from borrowing money to pay for day-to-day spending, and require debt to be falling as a share of the economy by 2030.

At a time when economic shocks have hurt the government’s finances, some critics say these self-imposed rules restrain the chancellor too much but Burnham has confirmed his government will stick by them.

This was reiterated in Healey’s first major speech as chancellor on 7 September, when he said Britain needs to control its public spending and borrowing. “There's nothing progressive about the government spending £1 in £10 on debt interest,” he said.

However, with the stress the public finances are under, experts are warning that taxes could rise in the Budget.

What is the Budget?

The Autumn Budget is the most important fiscal event of the year. It’s where the chancellor sets out the government’s plans for spending, taxation and the economy. There is usually only one Budget a year.

When chancellors set the Budget, they aim to balance the nation’s books and ideally give themselves a financial buffer against unexpected shocks known as ‘fiscal headroom’. This is essentially the amount by which they can increase spending or cut taxes without breaking their fiscal rules.

In the 2025 Budget, then-chancellor Rachel Reeves increased her fiscal headroom to around £22 billion, but analysis by professional services firm EY says this has likely since narrowed to around £11 billion due to economic shocks from global events like the Iran war.

When is the Budget?

The Autumn Budget will take place on Wednesday 28 October at around 12:30pm – after Prime Minister’s Questions.

The chancellor will deliver the Budget in the House of Commons, and while there is no set time limit, previous speeches have typically taken about an hour.

After the chancellor finishes delivering the Budget, the leader of the opposition will respond followed by other opposition parties and backbench members of the Labour party.

Another key event on Budget day is the publication of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic and fiscal outlook, which forecasts how much money each policy announced in the budget will cost or bring in.

The UK’s independent fiscal watchdog’s predictions are particularly important because the chancellor’s Budget decisions are partly informed by the data and analysis provided by the watchdog.

The day after the Budget is delivered, a four-day debate in the Commons will begin looking at the finer details of the measures announced.

The last step is the Finance Bill, which gives permanent legal power to the measures introduced in the Budget. The Finance Bill often acts as a motion of confidence in the government – if it cannot pass key measures in the bill, it could be at risk of collapse.