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

From the Newshound archive · first published 30 October 2026.

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.