Sadiq Khan says Healey's Budget has 'finally unlocked' the Bakerloo line extension by handing him a slice of London's business rates

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 October 2026.

Chancellor John Healey's Budget grants mayors a 20% share of business rates from 2027 and a slice of income tax from 2028, replacing central government grants with long-term locally-controlled funding streams. Khan says the new powers clear the path for the Bakerloo line's £5.2bn first phase, which would create 150,000 jobs and 100,000 new homes in south-east London.

Phase one would add stations at Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate and Lewisham, a project repeatedly blocked by central government.

No. 10 also backed Khan's proposal for a business rates retention zone around Stratford International to fund cross-channel rail stops there.