John Healey is announcing his financial update – here are the main points, with political analysis Budget 2026 live – latest updates John Healey starts by saying that his budget is “delivered at a time when global uncertainties and pressures are swirling worldwide and hitting people here at home”. Healey says he will meet the fiscal rule that day-to-day spending must be covered by tax receipts, and the investment rule that government debt, defined as public sector net financial liabilities, must be falling as a percentage of GDP in the third year of the forecast. The government will have £15bn of headroom in 2029-30 and £20bn in 2030-31, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s forecaster. Government borrowing will be 4.2% of GDP this year, 3.4% next year, then 2.9%, 2.1% and 1.8% by 2030-31, the OBR says. Predictions of slowing growth were wrong, Healey says.