Healey warns NHS pay rises may not be funded as he signals a tough Budget is coming on October 28

From the Newshound archive · first published 15 October 2026.

Chancellor John Healey has signalled that departments may need to "manage with the budgets we've got" before the October 28 Budget, stoking concern that pay increases for doctors and nurses could be left without funding. Speaking at the IMF annual meetings in Bangkok, Healey told the BBC that while times are "tough for everyone," he declined to commit to inflation-proofed departmental spending. Borrowing costs have reached a 28-year high in recent weeks, and city analysts believe his fiscal headroom has roughly halved to around £12bn.

Healey called banks a "jewel in the crown of the British economy" but would not rule out a levy on lenders at the Budget.

The TUC has demanded a windfall tax on bank profits; a coalition of business groups warned that such a measure could push capital out of Britain.

The IMF raised its UK growth forecast and commended Britain's fiscal discipline, though its chief Kristalina Georgieva urged the government to address its growing debt "urgently."