The Chancellor today unveiled a Budget that takes the fair choices to deliver on the country’s priorities of cutting the cost of living, reducing NHS waiting lists and driving down our borrowing and debt for families in the North West.
Millions of hardworking families in the North West struggling with household costs will benefit from Rachel Reeves’ inflation-busting decisions, with decisive action to take £150 off energy bills, freeze rail fares and a historic move to lift 450,000 children out of poverty.
Despite a decade of damage and historic underinvestment under the previous government which led to a £16 billion downgrade to productivity, the Chancellor was clear she was determined to defy the forecasts and break Britain out of its cycle of decline through stability, investment and reform.
What did key figures say about the measures taken to cut the cost of living?
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:
“Today’s budget builds on the choices we have made in the last year.
“To cut hospital waiting lists. To cut the cost of living. And to cut our debt.
“These are my choices – the right choices for a fairer, stronger, more secure Britain.”
Upgrading the UK’s economic growth this year to 1.5% from 1% in the Spring, the government’s fiscal watchdog the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the choices taken in the Budget would reduce inflation by 0.4% next year and cut government borrowing faster than any other G7 country, meaning more money can be spent on vital public services in the North West rather than debt interest.
Cutting the cost of living
The choices the Government has made have led to wages growing more in the first year of this Government than at any point in the 2010s, but the Chancellor was clear too many families are still struggling with the cost of living which is why the Budget includes a range of measures to cut bills and boost pay packets in the North West.
- Front and centre of the plans is a move to take around £150 off household energy bills to lower inflation and ease pressure on family finances. 280,000 poorer households in the North West will save up to £300 for the first time when combined with the recent expansion of the Warm Homes Discount.
- In a range of further measures designed to ease the cost of living, commuters in the North West will save hundreds of pounds on their season tickets after rail fares were frozen for the first time in 30 years.
- An extension of the temporary 5p fuel duty cut for an extra five months, a further fuel duty freeze, and the new Fuel Finder scheme will save the average car driver £89 – supporting 4.4 million motorists across the North West.
- Boosted pay-packets will give a £900 rise for full time workers on the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage in the North West. Full-time workers on the 18-20 National Minimum Wage rate in the region will see a £1,500 rise.
- Thanks to the government’s commitment to the Triple Lock for this parliament, pensioners on the full new State Pension in the North West will receive an extra £575 a year from April 2026.
- Every eligible 18- to 21-year-old in the North West who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months will be guaranteed a six-month paid work placement through a Jobs Guarantee scheme in the Youth Guarantee.
Greater powers for local leaders
- The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) will receive at least £2.5 billion and £1.3 billion respectively for 26-27 to 29-30 through their integrated settlements. This gives mayors greater flexibility to prioritise growth-boosting investments in their region.
- Both GMCA and LCRCA will also have access to a new Local Growth Fund and a Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund – a £1.4 billion package for mayoral city regions to invest in local priorities like infrastructure, business development and skills.
- Mayors will be empowered to introduce a visitor levy on overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth. It will be for them to decide whether to introduce this and how the revenue raised will be used to drive growth in their area.
- For the first time ever, we will devolve £1.3 billion through the National Housing Delivery Fund to local leaders including Mayors across Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region – supporting the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes in this Parliament.
- LCRCA will drive public service reform by piloting Place Based Budgets, which will give it the freedom to pool resources around shared challenges.
- The government is extending the 100% Business Rates Retention pilot in Liverpool City Region for a further three years, to 2028-29.
Investment in local areas
- Retail and hospitality properties on high streets across the region are set to benefit from permanently lower tax rates.
- This sits alongside a new National Licensing Policy Framework to encourage licensing authorities to rebalance the burdens of licensing and ensure high streets can thrive.
- The recapitalisation of the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund has been delivered as agreed, supporting new housing supply across the city region.
- The Government is building a northern growth corridor in partnership with local leaders, universities and businesses, to maximise the valuable assets in the Corridor and wider North, attract inward investment and develop a complementary economic hub to London and the South East.
- The Government is building a northern growth corridor in partnership with local leaders, universities and businesses, to build on the huge assets in the corridor and wider North, grow the economy, attract inward investment and create a complementary economic hub to London and the South East.
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The government has appointed Tom Riordan as its envoy for the Northern Growth Corridor and will set out an overarching plan for the Corridor in early 2026. Further announcements on transport infrastructure to support this strategy will be made shortly as will bus revenue funding for the Bee Network.
