IFS slams Healey's first Budget as 'unhelpful fiddling' and warns Britons face the worst decade for household incomes on record

The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that across the entire 2020s, disposable income for the average British family will grow by just two per cent — a worse record than even the post-war rationing era of the 1950s. IFS director Helen Miller warned that no temporary cost-of-living package can fix an economy this weak, and only structural growth will do. Healey had promised his Budget would deliver "breathing space" for households.

By 2029, households could be £1,050 worse off, squeezed by the energy crisis and Labour's tax decisions.

Healey announced £100 off energy bills for around 20 million English households, calling it "an important payment".

Miller's verdict was blunt: 'We need a stronger economy' — temporary relief packages will not shift the trajectory.