Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Bedford and John Healey

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

The Office for Budget Responsibility said last week that higher taxes were weighing on living standards, with the tax burden heading for a record high. The Budget was a missed opportunity for the Chancellor to cut the cost of living by cutting taxes, but instead his answer was to cut the price of gherkins. The Chancellor promised “breathing space” nine times in his speech; does he really think that 6p a day in savings amounts to breathing space for hard-working families?

[John Healey]

There will be a council tax cut in the new year. A VAT cut in electricity bills will be extended. A 5p cut in fuel duty will be extended through next winter and into July.

This is also a Budget that has rejected broad-based tax rises. This is a Government and a Budget making sure that we close the loopholes and target the measures we are taking at those who can pay, and pay what they owe. All those policies in the Budget are fully funded, because underpinning all is the fiscal discipline that is needed to rebuild confidence in this country, and confidence in our ability to manage our finances that were so badly damaged by the Truss mini-Budget in 2022.