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Articles by Heather Stewart
Tories would have to raise state pension age above 70 to keep triple lock, says minister
Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives would have to raise the state pension age above 70 to meet the cost of keeping the triple lock, Treasury minister Torsten Bell has claimed. Labour has announced reforms to the triple-lock promise to come into force in the next parliament – with the initial proceeds earmarked for Andy Burnham’s national care service.
1-0 to humankind? US midterms vote puts AI, datacentres and the broligarchy back in their box
The Markley Lowell datacentre surrounded by residential homes in Lowell, Massachusetts. The site has been dubbed ‘the Dungeon’ by some locals for the imposing black silhouette it presents. Photograph: Lauren Owens Lambert/AFP/Getty Images Last week’s midterms may not have cowed Donald Trump, but they should be a wake-up call for the grinning tech broligarchs who lined up at his inauguration two chaotic years ago.
Millions in UK brace to remortgage on worse deals as rate rise looms
More than 2.3m UK households face a sharp rise in mortgage payments as they come off fixed-rate deals in 2027, with the Bank of England expected to begin raising interest rates this week. The Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) is widely expected to increase the base rate from 3.75% to 4% on 5 November after UK inflation rose further to 3.5% in September.
Healey’s budget wasn’t a blockbuster but new PDEL category is innovative
John Healey’s debut budget was far from a blockbuster, but it may come to be remembered for the birth of a plucky new character in the tax and spend universe – little PDEL. It may not have the charm of Disney’s Wall-E, but PDEL (pronounced P-Del), Preventative Departmental Expenditure Limit, to give it its full name, marks a welcome, and potentially very consequential, addition.
Reader Q&A: Our money and economics correspondents answer your Budget 2026 questions – live
LIVE – Updated at 15:11 The 2026 budget has been revealed; how will it affect you personally, will it change the country and has chancellor John Healey done enough to prepare for the challenges ahead? Our money and economics editors Hilary Osborne and Heather Stewart are on line now answering your questions. Is there anything in this budget for young working people? southlondon1 asks: Is there anything in this budget for young working people?
Budget briefing: the key questions answered by Heather Stewart and Pippa Crerar
Heather Stewart and Pippa Crerar Wed, 28 October 2026 at 7:33 pm UTC 7 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
Budget briefing: the key questions answered by Heather Stewart and Pippa Crerar
The Guardian’s economics editor, Heather Stewart, and political editor, Pippa Crerar, assess the chancellor’s budget: what he said, why – and what he left out. Not at all. Reassuring febrile financial markets appeared to be one of Andy Burnham’s motivations in putting Healey in No 11, and this ‘steady-as-she-goes’ budget seems to have met that brief, for now.
Budget briefing: the key questions answered by Heather Stewart and Pippa Crerar
The Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, and economics editor, Heather Stewart, examine John Healey’s first budget and how it will be received by voters. Photograph: Jill Mead, Andy Hall/The Guardian The Guardian’s economics editor, Heather Stewart, and political editor, Pippa Crerar, assess the chancellor’s budget: what he said, why – and what he left out. Did the chancellor’s budget panic the financial markets?
Cutting ‘red tape’ is nothing but a red herring – and arguably counterproductive
Before becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham pledged to “end 40 years of neoliberalism”. But as he prepares for his first budget on Wednesday, his government is yet to let go of one of its most tedious cliches: red tape. In the run up to chancellor John Healey’s high-stakes Commons address, the government issued a press release last week promising his plans would include measures to “slash the red tape choking firms”.
Can John Healey make a dent in the cost of living crisis in his first budget?
Every Sunday night, the chancellor, John Healey, slips next door to Andy Burnham’s Downing Street flat where they order a curry and chew over politics on the prime minister’s sofa. A takeaway Indian is one of the totemic issues in British politics, a “treat” fewer people can afford, like a pint at the football or soft play for the kids.
Can John Healey make a dent in the cost of living crisis in his first budget?
Some aides see Healey and Burnham’s Sunday night curry summit as a chance to separate the chancellor from cautious Treasury officials, and get him to kick around the politics. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters Every Sunday night, the chancellor, John Healey, slips next door to Andy Burnham’s Downing Street flat where they order a curry and chew over politics on the prime minister’s sofa.
Double blow to Healey as inflation rises to 3.5% and monthly deficit hits £24bn
Inflation surged to 3.5% last month while the government deficit was a worse-than-forecast £24.5bn, in a double dose of bad news for John Healey before next week's budget. The Office for National Statistics said annual inflation rose from 3.1% in August , overshooting City forecasts of a rise in the consumer prices index (CPI) to 3.4%, as a result of the surging cost of fuel.
Healey backs pro-growth case for Heathrow third runway after Burnham ducks issue Original
John Healey has said there is a pro-growth case for going ahead with a third runway at Heathrow despite the prime minister declining to back it. Healey's predecessor as chancellor, Rachel Reeves, put approval of the long-planned runway at the heart of her "growth speech" last year, saying it would "make Britain the world's best-connected place to do business".
Target pensions or welfare, not banks, IMF tells John Healey
The International Monetary Fund has urged John Healey to target savings on pensions and welfare, instead of taxing Britain's banks at the budget later this month. Helge Berger, deputy director of the IMF's European department, was asked about bank taxes after the Guardian revealed Healey plans to tap the sector for additional revenue. Berger replied that given the UK's historically high tax-to-GDP ratio, it might be better to “put the emphasis” on cuts.
John Healey vows to give ‘breathing space’ to consumers and businesses in first budget
John Healey has promised to use his first budget in a fortnight’s time to offer consumers and businesses a “breathing space” while sticking to Labour’s fiscal rules. Speaking to journalists in Bangkok, where he has been attending the International Monetary Fund annual meetings, the chancellor said he was conscious of rising costs.
Labour has got the message – it’s developing nations suffering most from bond market turmoil
High debt-servicing costs for developing nations crowd out desperately needed spending on public services, and investing for the future. Photograph: Héctor Retamal/AFP/Getty Images From Washington to Paris, London to Tokyo, policymakers in every large economy have been counting the costs of bond market turmoil in recent weeks.
Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit makes no economic sense
Kemi Badenoch’s proposal would wipe out half of the £15bn revenue inheritance tax is predicted to bring into the treasury by 2030-31. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Kemi Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit is a Conservative classic. After all, it was George Osborne’s high-profile pledge to “take the family home out of inheritance tax” in 2007 that put Gordon Brown off calling a snap general election.
Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit makes no economic sense
Kemi Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit is a Conservative classic. After all, it was George Osborne’s high-profile pledge to “take the family home out of inheritance tax” in 2007 that put Gordon Brown off calling a snap general election. In practice, Osborne’s plan involved a £1m threshold for inheritance tax – and given the global financial crisis had blown a hole in the public finances by the time the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition came to power in 2010, it never came to pass.
Labour could oversee worst parliament on record for living standards, study warns
Soaring energy and housing costs mean Labour is on course to preside over the worst parliament for living standards in modern times, a stark analysis warns. Three weeks ahead of John Healey’s budget, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said Britain faces a “dire” outlook unless the government takes “bold policy action”. The JRF predicts that, after housing costs, average household incomes will be between £440 and £770 lower in real terms in 2029-30 than when Labour came to power two years ago.
Healey urged to offer energy support in budget as bills rise 4%
John Healey is under growing pressure to offer fresh energy support for households in next month’s budget as millions face a 4% rise in charges from Thursday to an average of £1,723 a year for a typical home. In his speech at Labour’s conference in Liverpool this week, the chancellor warned that the government had limited resources to cushion the worldwide economic shocks hitting Britain, while arguing his budget would have fiscal discipline at its core.
Will pensioners be poorer as a result of Burnham scrapping the triple lock?
The new policy, just announced by Andy Burnham, should remove the 'ratchet' effect, where high inflation can trigger a sharp rise in the state pension.Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA The prime minister has announced that the pensions triple lock will be scrapped in its current form, to partly fund a "national care service". What is the new policy? On the existing triple lock, the state pension increases each April by inflation, 2.5% or average earnings, whichever is higher.
OECD: Global economy more resilient to Iran war than expected
The global economy has withstood the strains of the Iran war better than first feared but its outlook is “heavily dependent” on a lasting resolution to the conflict, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned. In its interim economic outlook, the Paris-based body suggested global growth had been more resilient than expected when the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.
UK unemployment rises to highest in nearly four years | Economics
The unemployment rate in the UK has risen to its highest level in almost four years, according to official figures, as the jobs market continues to slow. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate was 4.5% in first three months of this year, up 0.2% on the previous quarter and the highest reading since summer 2021.
What would a UK-US economic deal really look like? | International trade
When Boris Johnson flew to meet Donald Trump for the first time at the Biarritz G7 summit in 2019, he boasted en route to reporters about the huge benefits a post-Brexit trade deal with the US would bring – citing a baffling range of great British products, from pork pies to shower trays. Despite the positive chemistry between the two blond blowhards, and the launch of formal talks the following year, no agreement was ever reached.
Rachel Reeves heads to China to build bridges, but a new golden era of relations is impossible | Economics
Rachel Reeves will fly with a delegation of City grandees to China this week as Labour seeks closer economic links with Beijing as part of its quest for growth. With the outlook increasingly rocky at home after a run of soft economic data, the chancellor is sorely in need of a positive story to tell. She appears determined to normalise the UK’s relationship with the communist superpower, despite mounting security concerns and a backdrop of growing geopolitical tension.
Elon Musk’s rumoured $100m donation may just fuel a fresh look at UK political funding | Heather Stewart
Elon Musk has denied he is gearing up to chuck $100m at Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, as it pushes to take on the Tories. But the very fact the question arose is a reminder of the pressing need for political funding reform on this side of the Atlantic. Musk is the living embodiment of economic power in the modern US: a multibillionaire, with spicy political views, who has bought his way into a role as Donald Trump’s costcutter-in-chief.
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