Burnham's chancellor is set to slash business rates for high street pubs and shops in his first budget

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Chancellor John Healey is set to overhaul business rates in England in his first budget, with Treasury officials holding workshops with business groups over the past fortnight to work up options. One proposal would lift the small business rates relief threshold from £12,000 to £17,096 in line with inflation, removing the tax bill entirely for thousands of firms. Healey's move comes as Burnham has pledged to make high streets "a symbol of Britain's renaissance" and faces pressure from Greens and Reform to show economic results fast.

Jim O'Neill, Burnham's former Goldman Sachs adviser, warned the chancellor against any further tax rises, saying 'the last thing that should be going on is more taxes on business.'

A second option under Treasury consideration is expanding transitional relief to cushion firms from business rate revaluations that came into force in April.

Critics are already sharpening their knives: Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood mocked Burnham for taking a £700 taxpayer-funded chair from Manchester as a leaving gift while promising relief for hard-pressed businesses.