Chancellor John Healey is facing calls to rule out further tax increases in his upcoming Budget, amid warnings from opposition figures that Labour's spending plans could destabilise the public finances. Ahead of a major speech intended to reassure jittery financial markets and set out plans for greater state intervention to boost private investment, shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith and Reform UK's Robert Jenrick both urged Healey to avoid piling further tax burdens onto businesses and households, invoking the memory of his Labour predecessor Denis Healey's 1976 IMF bailout as a cautionary parallel.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds also struck a notably cautious tone, telling Sky News there was "no taxation answer" that could meet public expectations on social care, defence and public services, and suggesting welfare spending needs to fall after disability benefit claims were found to be rising 50% faster than in Ukraine. This follows roughly £70 billion in tax rises since the election. In his speech, Healey is expected to announce measures including streamlined corporate reporting rules saving businesses an estimated £450 million a year, faster planning decisions, greater regional devolution, and £150 million to support innovative firms in the North of England, while insisting Britain is "a country turning a corner".