Budget 2026: Burnham’s five everyday fixes and what they mean for you

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced five “everyday fixes” that will form part of tomorrow’s budget. They include higher tax-free mileage rates, parental pay for self-employed fathers, an end to the Carer’s Allowance “cliff edge” and the removal of import tariffs on more than 100 products. The Conservatives dismissed the package as little more than “cheaper gherkins” and “an insult to families”, The Guardian reports.

What happened

The measures were released on Tuesday 27 October, the day before Chancellor John Healey presents his budget to MPs. Writing in The Guardian’s politics live blog, Andrew Sparrow suggested the Treasury wanted them to get attention today because Healey may have “bigger surprises” tomorrow that would push them out of the news.

The Treasury set out the five changes as follows:

• Mileage rates: the 55p per mile tax-free rate for the first 10,000 business miles becomes permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p. The Treasury says this supports around 3 million employees and self-employed people who use their own vehicle for work, including nurses, care workers and builders.
• Parental pay: more than 150,000 additional parents a year, including self-employed fathers and partners, will become eligible for two weeks of support, currently worth up to £194 a week.
• Carer’s Allowance: unpaid carers will no longer lose their whole allowance for earning a penny over the Weekly Earnings Limit, which is equivalent to 16 hours at the National Living Wage. Instead, £1 of support will be withdrawn for every additional £1 earned.
• Import tariffs: tariffs will be removed on more than 100 products, including baked beans, chocolate and gherkins. The Treasury says the change also helps farmers facing higher fertiliser bills and households that rely on kerosene heating oil. Together with existing tariff suspensions, it says households could save up to £21 a year on their food shop.
• Post Office: hundreds more parcel drop boxes will bring the total to 1,000, and 600 branches will be upgraded by the end of the financial year.

According to The Guardian, the Treasury also claims that its food tariff cuts, combined with earlier cuts made by Rachel Reeves, will reduce consumer costs by up to £595m.

The shadow chancellor, Andrew Griffith, said that “rampant borrowing, soaring taxes and an utter inability to cut spending” meant inflation had already wiped out the benefits. “Shoppers face rising costs at the till and families are struggling to make ends meet, but Burnham’s plan is cheaper gherkins,” he said.

Why it matters if you live in United Kingdom

The Carer’s Allowance change is the most significant for many households. The Guardian has reported for some time on how hundreds of thousands of carers were ordered to repay large sums after their weekly earnings went slightly over the limit, sometimes by very small amounts. Elsewhere in the welfare system, people only have to return the overpayment. Under the Carer’s Allowance rules, a tiny breach could lead to demands for thousands of pounds. The new taper means carers who work part-time should face a gradual reduction in support rather than losing all of it.

The parental pay change matters if you are self-employed and expecting a child. Until now, self-employed fathers and partners have not been able to get this support. Labour MP Amanda Martin, who co-chairs the Labour Men and Boys group, said she was “delighted that this is becoming a reality”. George Gabriel, co-founder of the campaign group the Dad Shift, called paternity leave “a cost of living lifeline for new families”. Eva Neitzert of the Women’s Budget Group welcomed the move but urged the chancellor to increase statutory maternity pay as well. She said that support for new mothers “still sits at less than half of minimum wage beyond the first six weeks”.

If you drive your own car for work, the higher mileage rates mean you can claim more back without paying tax. The union Unison called the focus on the cost of living, including tax-free mileage, “commendable” but said “bolder” policies were needed.

For shoppers, the tariff cuts are modest. The Treasury’s own figure is a saving of up to £21 a year on a household’s food shop. Households in rural areas that heat their homes with kerosene oil are also named as beneficiaries.

What to watch next

John Healey delivers the budget on Wednesday 28 October. The Guardian’s coverage suggests these measures were released early because bigger announcements are expected tomorrow, so the full picture on taxes, spending and household finances will only be clear then.

Look out for whether the chancellor goes further on family support, as the Women’s Budget Group has asked, and for the full Treasury documents, which should set out when each change takes effect. Carers and self-employed parents in particular should check the detailed rules once they are published.

The political argument will also continue. The Conservatives have made clear that they will attack the budget over borrowing, taxes and inflation. Burnham, meanwhile, is betting that voters notice small practical changes even when critics mock them.

Source: The Guardian