Britain Can Grow Its Way Out of This Budget

Budget 2026 raised the tax on your savings and rental income, on top of a rise already due in April, and the Chancellor barely mentioned it. Neil Woodford explains why John Healey did it, and why he thinks the official forecast that says more tax rises are coming is wrong.

From April 2027, interest on savings held outside an ISA and income from rented property will be taxed at 24%, 44% and 49%. A £100 energy payment for 20 million households is paid for by doubling the bank surcharge, and the gas standing charge is moving onto the price of each unit of gas, which could leave the biggest users paying more. Neil and Jon go through what the Budget did to people's money, and what it put off.

The bigger question is why the Budget was so small. The tax burden is heading for a post-war record, the Chancellor's margin against his fiscal rules is down to £15bn, and he has ruled out both broad tax rises and deep spending cuts. Growth is the way out, and the OBR forecast says it isn't coming. One number in that forecast is worth roughly three times the Chancellor's whole margin.

Neil explains why he thinks the OBR has that number wrong, the contradiction in its interest rate forecast that he calls economically illiterate, and what it all means for savers, the banks and UK shares.